Way of the Ghost : The First Portal
by Boxghost228
Summary: Fear. They say they know it and live by it every day. They know that fear is caused by the scariest of things. But what they do not know, is me. Epilogue UP! Reviews, anons&flames welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: If you've seen it on Danny Phantom, I don't own it. Any original characters, however, are all mine. Here's to Butch Hartman, for inspiring this story and creating Danny Phantom, and to my karate sensei, whom has always forced me to work hard, or suffer for it.

Part One: Japan

Chapter 1 (The Start)

"Morning, Tir!" my sister roared happily as she flung open the door to my room and ran to my window. "Time to wake up and embrace the new day!"

I opened my eyes, unfortunately just as she threw open the blinds on my window. The light streamed in, taking a split second to ricochet off the bright white walls of my room before entering my eyes and burning them to a fine powdery crisp.

"Agggh! Go away, Ron!" I bellowed as I threw my rock-hard pillow at her head. "Leave me to what little peace I have left!" She grabbed my pillow in midair and threw it back, nailing me in the head and effectively stunning me.

She opened the blinds wider before she said, "Don't call me Ron, Tirrell. You know I hate to be called that. Besides, mom and dad told me to get you up and out of bed by whatever means necessary."

She was interrupted as dad called through the door, calling, "Tirrell, Ron! Your mother wants to leave soon, so get up! You know how testy she gets when she's kept from her studies!" The smile immediately faded from Veronica's face, replaced instead by a rather dejected grimace.

"Ah yes," she groaned sarcastically, "Another joyful school-less Saturday dawns on the Morgan family." She turned and was about to leave when she turned to me and said, "Just get up and dressed. Please Tir?" I sighed, then got up and started getting dressed.

She smiled, then left. I grinned slightly, then turned and looked out my window, as if I would find an answer in the sky.

My name is Tirrell Morgan, Tir for short. I'm about fourteen and a half years old. I'm about five feet, ten inches tall, and weighing in at about a hundred and forty-five pounds. I'm certainly not overly muscular, but I'm not exactly out of shape either.

I've got fairly long, dark brown hair, and brown eyes with small flecks of silver in them. My nose is a bit broad, but rounded, and I have a well-defined chin. My skin is fairly well cared for, and slightly tanned. Not a very conspicuous complexion in Amity Park, Indiana, perhaps, but in Hitori, Honshu, Japan, you get noticed. Very noticed.

I respect the Japanese people, I really do, but every society, nah, every school, has at least one bully. And unfortunately, in Japan most of the bullies are well trained. I've got the odd broken bone to prove it. I've got better odds, however, than a few of their victims.

Ever since my family moved to Hitori from Amity Park about five years back I've been honing my skills in the martial arts, especially Shotokan karate. Those classes have saved me from serious injury on many, but not all occasions, and I'll be testing for my first-degree black belt in about two months time. That is if I'm able to get in enough classes with all the running around my parents do.

Speaking of all the running around my parents do, I barely had enough time to drag myself downstairs to eat something for breakfast before we were off to Hokkaido, the most northern of Japan's four main islands, for one of my mom's research leads.

Most people have normal jobs. My uncle, Frederick Lancer, is a vice principal back home. My aunt, Katherine Morgan, is an accountant for one of the many "Nasty Burger" fast-food joints all across the globe. Even my sister is a waitress at a local Japanese restaurant. Are these jobs relatively normal? Yes. My mom, Sandra Morgan, however, is most definitely the family black-sheep.

She studies and researches ghosts. Ghosts! Honestly! And believe it or not she was introduced to ghost research by my dad, Hal Morgan, whom ironically is now not half as obsessed as she is with all things ectoplasmic. He once tried to get her to take one Saturday off to spend some time with her family, and she chewed him into a pulp!

She's maybe half his size, with green eyes and blonde hair, and she still chews into him like that! My father is a good, brave, caring man. He once threw himself between an angry, eight-hundred pound mother grizzly, and us when we were on a hike in some national park in western Canada, once again because of my mother's obsession with ghosts. He spent close to a year in the hospital, recovering from his considerable wounds.

Getting back to the story, we were on a ferry that would take us to Hokkaido across a small strait between Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan's main and largest island. As lousy and probably boring as I knew the day was going to be, I couldn't help but enjoy the nice weather. The sun was shining brightly, little wisps of cloud scuttling across the boundless blue, whilst the wind created a gentle breeze, salty, yet very refreshing.

The waves very slowly and gently caressed the boat, rocking it ever so gently. I was just about asleep when my dad walked over. He was holding two cups in his hands. He passed one to me and sipped his own cup of hot chocolate as he leaned on the rail beside me. "Thanks," I said, taking a sip of my drink, "It's a bit cold out on the seas this morning." "I know," he said wisely, not taking his eyes off the waves, "I thought you might like some. Sure beats coffee in the morning. Hate the stuff myself."

"Same here," I agreed, turning to him. Despite the fact that I saw him every day, there was always something about him that impressed me. He was a fairly big man, tall and well-built, with short dark hair, thinning and flecked with grey in some places. His mustache and eyebrows, however, were undiminished, dark and quite far from thinning. His dark eyes, so I thought, reflected the sea, calm most of the time, but when angered could become very dark and angry. I've only ever seen him like that once, and I swear that as long as I live I never want to see that look on anyone's face again.

He turned at that moment and said, "Today might not be so bad, you know. Even a little good can come from something that seems bad. "Just try and keep an open mind, okay?" and he walked away. I stayed where I was, staring out to sea and admiring the late summer sun. Seabirds shrieked by overhead, and very distantly I saw a cloud of steam erupt from the waves. It was soon joined by another, and another, until I could pick out an entire pod of whales, calling to each other and breaching, throwing themselves surprisingly high into the air, then crashing back into the surf to rejoin their friends and family.

Despite how much technology has taken over our lives, I can still enjoy nature. Whether I'm out traversing the hills behind our house after school, or scaling a mountain looking for one of my mom's many research opportunities, or even now, witnessing the life of the open water, I can enjoy the simplest aspects of life. I can satisfy myself with just being alive to enjoy life, rather than being discontent at what I can't enjoy because I don't have it. The simplest thought can enter my head, and it will lift my spirits and cause me to remember, that sometimes life really isn't all about having, so much as just being. Being alive to live through the things in life that really do matter, like working hard and faithfully and honestly to earn something.

The captain called out, and I looked to the front of the boat. I could just barely see the shores of Hokkaido up ahead, and couldn't wait for the two or three hours of free time that we'd have before mom would force us up into one of the few remaining wildernesses in all of Japan. We docked in a small inlet on the southern side of the island. About an hour after we had set sail from the northernmost port on Honshu, we were in a small town with some long name that I had no idea how to pronounce. Most of the people here were either tourists or shopkeepers, trying to sucker people into buying their redundant junk.

We separated for a while, mom to arrange/prepare a trip into the mountains, dad to look for any good junk, and Veronica to look for any bad junk. Me, I went to find some food, which could be considered a type of junk within itself. "I cannot believe it," I groaned after a while, "What do people eat here, money? rocks? green peppers?"

Just for the record, no, I do not like green peppers. Although I do like the spice pepper, which really makes very little sense in itself.

Anyway, I was still looking for a place to eat when I ran into him. Tai Fenbutsu, the school jerkwad. Two hundred pounds of solid, well-toned and well-trained muscle and pure spite, what some might argue as the "perfect" bully. In my opinion the perfect bully leaves you alone and picks on somebody else you loath.

I barely had time to realize who he was before stars exploded behind my eyes. I hit the ground like a half-stunned cat, hard, and on my back. To say the least it did not help that I landed in a puddle of water up to my ankles. "It has been my honor, loser-san," he bowed, grinning maliciously, "To ruin your bad day even further. Saiyenara!" I lay there for a moment, letting the water soak into my skin, as I stewed in my own anger. One day I'd show him what it's like to be on the receiving end, but until then I'd be his punching bag and punchline rolled into one.

"Need a lift?" someone asked as they kneeled over me. I accepted and was helped to my feet.

"Thanks," I said dryly, "Pity you weren't here a minute ago. I could've used a little support back there."

"You can take care of yourself. Remember when you were free-styling with that three-hundred pound juggernaut? He probably could've squashed you between his thumb and index finger and you still won that match. Didn't you get like, a silver medal in that tournament?" It was only then that I realized that the person who had helped me up was Veronica.

She was rather thin, though not to the point of unhealthiness. Even though she was two years the older I was about the same height as she was. She had dark hair, much like dad's, although hers was waist-length, thick and in very good condition. And no, she does not have a mustache. Her eyes are blue, which really doesn't fit into the family eye colours, and her skin is light, not pale, but more to the light side, unlike mine and dad's. And she's fast. Very fast. Both academically and athletically. When she runs the track in gym class she finishes head and shoulders before everybody else. And don't even get me started on her judo and taikwando. She's so fast she's even earned the nickname "Tiger claws." Even her teachers call her that.

Despite the fact that she is better in school and at sports than me, she isn't all that bad of a sister. Sure she rubs me the wrong way sometimes, but what two siblings don't? We've had our differences, but we've always forgiven each other and moved on. We're actually much closer than most brothers and sisters. We watch the same shows, listen to the same music, and so on. Usually if one of us has an opinion on something, the other agrees with it. Sometimes we even spar together in our basement.

The incident that she was referring to happened about a year ago. I did get a silver medal for that. Aside from that silver medal I've received five bronze medals, another silver medal, a gold and a small trophy. And believe me, I've earned all of them. She got me a milkshake, to try and raise my rather low spirits after what happened. It helped. Marginally.

"I wonder what strange ancient ruins we're going to be visiting today," I groaned. "Why can't my parents do something normal? Does anyone in the world have parents that are half as weird as mine?"

"Remember Danny and Jazz from back home?" She countered. It was a good counter. It totally blew a hole in my argument.

"Good point," I admitted, "But still, why can't my parents just try to lead normal lives. Ever since I was three mom and dad have been dragging us across the globe in search of ghosts or records of ghosts. "I have been less than three feet away from lions, tigers, bears..."

"Oh my," Veronica interrupted with a wry grin on her face. "Sorry. Continue."

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I've been within three feet of more dangerous and highly venomous creatures than Paul Hogan, I've been sick with no less than seven deadly diseases worldwide, and I've never lived in one place for more than a few years! What is the world coming to!"

Passersby had started to stare as I ranted, so when I was finished Veronica said before I could continue, "If you keep on raving people will think that you're nuts."

"I am not nuts!" I shouted, drawing just a little bit more attention to myself.

"More tea, miss?" the waiter said, then he turned to me and said with a small grin, "And will you have anything else, crazy man?" Ordinarily I would have laughed at his little joke, but rest assured I would have lost it entirely if Veronica hadn't grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, turned me around and started walking.

After we had rounded the corner she turned me around and said seriously, "Try not to let people get to you like that, okay? They're not worth it. I'm having a pretty crummy day too, if that'll help you feel better. When you're feeling depressed and angry just try and remember what good things you have in your life." She smiled, then finished, "Besides, if you focus on all the bad things in life, it won't exactly be a life, will it?"

For some reason, whenever Veronica talks to me like that, I feel better afterwards. "Thanks, sis."

"Welcome. Now let's see if we can find mom and dad before we have to get going." We found dad by a shop, talking with the owner in a hushed voice. When he saw us he concluded his conversation, then stormed toward us. I noticed that he stowed something on his inside pocket, but thought nothing of it. "Can you believe it?" he said angrily, "He wanted five million yen for one little silver ring! He tried to rob me blind!"

"What, or who, was the ring for dad?" Veronica asked curiously, though I could tell that what she was trying to calm him down.

"A gift for your aunt Katherine, if you must know," he began, starting to calm down a bit, "She's getting married in two weeks and I wanted to congratulate her. It looks like I'll have to find something else for her before then."

"Ah, relax dad," I soothed, "If there's anyone that can find her something in about a week's time it's you."

He smiled, despite himself. "Thanks, wildcat," he said affectionately, calling me by my childhood nickname as he wrapped an arm around me. "You know what," he said as he raised a hand to his eyes and squinted, "I think that your mother's up ahead at the travel centre. We'll probably be leaving soon. Go have any bathroom breaks now if you need to."

"Dad!" we both scolded at the same time, before Veronica headed for the ladies' room. I was about to head for the men's when I felt a heavy hand descend on my shoulder. "Follow me," he said, pointing to a bench nearby. We sat down and waited for a few moments before dad began speaking. "Son," he said seriously, leaning his elbows on his knees, "Be honest with me when you answer my question. Promise?"

"Promise," I agreed, taking his extended hand and shaking it. I then asked suspiciously, "So what's the big question?"

"Son, do you think that I am a good father?" he asked. The question caught me unawares. Dad had always seemed like a very secure kind of guy. he never let any insult get to him, at least none that I knew of. I tried to be honest and answered, "Well, you can be a bit forceful sometimes. Remember when you got so ticked at me for neglecting my chores that you threw me into a wall?" I had tried to make light of the question, but it didn't seem to sit well with him. I recovered by saying, "I kind of earned that one. Besides, not only did you apologize for it, but I understood why you did it. I really had been neglecting my duties lately, and since you'd had a bad day, I guess I just chose the wrong time to turn sloth."

He started to smile as I continued, "And even if I did resent you for that, there was that time we were hiking after some ectoplasmic doodad or whatever and that bear ambushed us."

"Even when you do something like that for your family, that takes guts, no pun intended." He was grinning with appreciation by the time I finished, "Look, dad, no one is perfect. No one is the perfect dad either. They never say it, but I bet that a lot of people think that their dads are great, and they've probably done a lot less for their families than you have for us." He leaned over and put a hand on my shoulder. I didn't mind.

"Tirrell, I want to tell you something."

"I may not show it all the time, but you really are a great son. You can be committed and focused on something, and strive for it with every fiber of your being. You've always seemed to exert this strong, childlike energy that really can lift my spirits on dark days."

"And believe me I know that it's really hard to put up with your mother sometimes, but both yourself and Veronica have shown an amazing amount of tolerance, and even a little understanding." I was surprised by what dad was saying. I knew that he respected me, but I didn't know that he thought so highly of me. He continued, "There are times that it's seemed like I haven't shown any appreciation for your efforts. But when you earned that silver medal last year, and when you stood up to that bully that keeps bugging you and got a black eye and a broken arm for it, but you still floored him, I was darn proud."

"I know that I've done some pretty amazing things in my life, and in one case I spent several days in the ER and a whole month in the hospital, but the first remotely amazing thing I ever did was when I was nineteen and graduated from highschool with 90+ marks all around. You're only fourteen and you've done, and withstood, some pretty amazing things."

"I've never given you an allowance one day of your life, I've never taken you on holidays, and I've never asked you how your day was at school. Well, here's your reward for a life well done." He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a small white box about four inches wide and approximately eighteen inches long, tied with a red slip of paper. "Open it," he urged.

I slid the paper off the box and lifted the lid, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head and splattered across the sidewalk. It was the most beautiful weapon that I had ever seen! A ruby as big as the end of my thumb acted as a pommel, with small brass claws securing it in place. The grip was sharkskin, and patterned just like a katana. The hilt of the dagger was black iron, studded with small flecks of quartz. The sheath was rounded and black, lacquered to smoothness, with the Japanese characters depicting my name painted along the side in bright red.

I secured the blade to my hip, then took hold of the handle and slowly drew the blade. It was marvelous! A leaf would be cut by it just by landing on the blade. One foot of solid, honed steel, sharp enough to cut through rock like butter. The balance of blade and handle was perfect. It really was like the blade was merely an extension of my arm.

"Dad?" I asked calmly as I examined the blade from pommel to tip, taking in every little nuance of the weapon in my hands.

"Yes? What do you think of it?" he asked, concern and happiness written all over his face.

"Have I ever told you that you rock out loud!" I shouted, thrusting and slashing vicious arcs through the air. At one point I even tossed the blade into the air, back-flipped, and caught the blade by its tip. I then threw it with deadly accuracy at the sign by the travel centre. There was a muffled "thunk" as it split the "T" dead in half.

My dad walked over to the sign and tried to remove the blade with one hand. Failing, he then tried with both hands and heaved the blade out of the sign. "Good throw, Tir," he said appreciatively. His face then turned serious as he warned, "But if I ever see you do that again you're grounded."

"If that mean that I get to keep this thing, then deal," I exclaimed, sheathing it just as Veronica emerged from the bathroom. "Now if you don't mind, I kind of have to go the bathroom," I said, heading there as quickly as I could.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: If you've seen it on Danny Phantom, I don't own it. I apologize if the first chapter seemed a little long and boring, but I figured I'd just get a good part of the introductions out of the way. This chapter might seem a little weird, so if you think there's anything wrong or weak about my writing, feel free to review. You're helping me by offering potentially helpful advice, and you're helping yourselves by getting it off your chest. Trust me, the action increases as the story goes on.

Thanks to the reviews from: Enigmatic Penguin- Thanks. By the way, I am going to try and spell "sayoonara" right from now on. If I have any other Japanese words in here that I've mispelled, by all means say so.

The Sleep Warrior- Yes, I will keep writing for at least fifteen more chapters and a sequel yet. So stay tuned. Also, if you have any extra ideas for the sequel, I'm all ears.

Chapter 2 (Sociophantom) We were in the foothills of Hokkaido, Japan, within the next half hour. We were lucky that since it was late summer it was still warm enough for us to wear our regular clothes. The only additional equipment that we had were traveling staves, hiking boots, bear bells, and extra sweater each, and these weird rings that mom made for us out of some sort of techno junk that was supposed to create an energy shield that protected us from ghosts. I didn't feel anything so I assumed that they were faulty.

"Oh this is going to be great," mom said, her voice shrill with anticipation, "We are going looking for the world's first ghost portal. Some rumors even say that it's been in existence for ten thousand years."

"Great," I said sarcastically, "So how long is it going to take us to get there?"

Either she didn't notice my sarcasm or she chose to ignore it when she replied, "Oh, not far. If my lead is anywhere near accurate the hike should just be two or three more hours."

I drove my foot into a rock the second she said that, and I think that I hurt something, because I was walking funny the rest of the day. Fortunately the top of my traveling staff was T-shaped so I could use it like a crutch.

Eventually my negativity towards why we were out here melted away, to be replaced by a sense of wonder at the things around me. The hills were grassy and untrodden, with flowers and bushes springing up out of the ground. Small trees grew here. Stunted though they were by the cold weather, they were still persistent enough to grow in this relatively harsh environment.

Turning to us my father said, "Now remember kids, keep your eyes out for bears. They're rare but there are still some left in these mountains. If you see one, don't hesitate to tell everyone else."

"Okay," Veronica and I replied before we returned to our observation of nature. I had to admit, with the high, snow-capped mountains in the background and the sloping, grassy hills in front of us, it really was an amazing view. There was no wind, so you could even hear the keening cries of the eagles high above our heads.

Eventually, we came to the foot of a large mountain, its peak extending into the mist high above us. We sat there for a while as mom tried to find where we were on her map. I massaged my foot as we waited, and dad and Ronnie whistled a duet, dad doing the bass part and Ronnie the high part. With the echo coming off the mountains, it really did sound cool. Eventually I even joined in, whistling tenor.

After a few minutes we were back on the road, still whistling, as we trekked along a narrow mountain path. Our view was now rather stifled by the side of the mountain that we were up against. Our view of the side of the mountain opposite us, however, was actually pretty cool. I could see individual trees as they covered the valley floor below, and as they petered out around the treeline much further up. Great eagles and hawks circled none too far above us, searching for prey in the valley below.

Thin clouds of snow and mist swirled down from above. They weren't chilly, actually, they were really quite refreshing. Off in the distance I could see the sunlit mountains, most of their peaks shrouded in mist. I could hear the distant roar of the rushing rivers and plunging waterfalls below, and the wind as it rattled the needles and leaves of the trees, and echoed off the sides of the mountains.

"Hey, is it just me, or is it getting a bit cold?" A light breeze sent a shiver down my spine, and I put on my extra sweater. It still wasn't very cold, but then I've never liked the cold too terribly much. My sister, however, is just as tolerant of the cold as I am of the heat, and I can stand outside on a really warm spring day in a sweater and jeans and I'm just fine.

Eventually, the path that we were following descended somewhat, and before long we came to a crossroads. On one side the path stayed close to the mountain for a fair ways before it rose again, then dipped until it was lost to sight. The other path extended across the valley to the other side as a sort of bridge, descending as it went. It rose up again on the other side, then curved along the side of the next mountain and was lost to sight.

"This is as far as the map leads me," mom said after several minutes of deliberation, "We'll split up. Hal, you and Tirrell go along the mountain. Veronica, you and I will take the bridge. If you don't find anything in the next hour, head back to this spot. We'll head home from there." We all nodded our assent, then went our separate ways, dad and I took the high road, and Ronnie and mom took the low road. Personally, I would have taken the low road.

At first the going was rather easy. The path was smooth and it was only very slightly angled upwards. We were making good time. As the path started to rise more and more steeply upwards, we started moving gradually slower. The distance was more than it had appeared to be at first. Then we came to a dead end. The path gave way to a steep ledge about fifteen feet high.

We agreed that dad would slowly climb up and, if need be, he'd use my dagger to carve holds into the rock. I knew that he'd been on every sports team his university could come up with, but I never realized that he was still in such great shape. With one grunt he tore huge grooves into the rock.

I was also surprised at how much punishment my dagger could take. Most weapons of the same size would shatter and snap after only one or two strokes into the rock. Dad must have really known who he was talking to when he commissioned the forging of that thing.

Within a few minutes he was at the top. He turned around and dropped the dagger at my feet. Then it was my turn to follow. I moved on to the first hold and heaved myself up. I kept a steady pace until I got to a wide space of flat rock. I tried making a few handholds with my dagger, but I wasn't strong enough to make those gouges with any amount of speed.

"Dad?" I called up. A moment later I saw his head lean out over the small cliff, only a few feet away. "On three I'm going to jump upwards as far as I can. I want you to catch my arm and pull me the rest of the way up, okay?" He hesitated a moment, then nodded. I tensed myself. Every muscle in my arms and legs was bunched, as well as the muscles in my torso.

"One..." I called out, looking down towards the ground several feet below. If something went wrong, I'd hurt, though not as bad as I could hurt. But I'd definitely know about it.

"Two..." I looked up, towards my destination. If I succeeded, then I should get up there without any serious injury. That was a very big "If" however.

"And Three!" And with all my strength I heaved myself upwards. After a few seconds I stopped rising. Time seemed to freeze as I hung in midair, praying that I had gotten close enough to dad for him to reach me.

Just as I started to fall again I felt something take hold of my arm in a grip like iron. I was stunned with relief and awe as with one swift effort he lifted me over the cliff. I flew a few feet in the air before hitting the ground. We both lay there for a moment, our breath coming in great gusts and whooshes.

After a minute I said, "Nice throw, old man. I think you ruptured my spleen with that last move." He was quiet for a moment, then he burst out laughing.

He laughed for some time before he shot back, "Old, am I? Well this old man still has a few tricks that you've never heard of before."

"And for now, let's just make sure it stays that way," I suggested, knowing almost exactly what he meant by those words. He was still laughing as we picked ourselves up and continued on down the trail.

The ledge started to become broader and rougher. Chunks of rock stood out of the path every which way, just waiting for someone to trip over them. We came at last to a sharp bend in the mountainside. And what we saw after we rounded the bend very nearly took our breath away.

This side of the mountain was shaped like a crescent. In about the middle of the crescent was a huge lump of solid rock, which rose above the ledge before plunging downwards. "Well," dad said, determination in his every movement, "The only way that we're going to find out what's in there is if we take a look."

We started for the lump immediately. The ground seemed to get smoother and smoother as we went, until it looked as if people walked on this path every day.

The ground rose as we approached the lip of the basin. We had to crawl up the slope on hands and knees. Finally, we reached the lip of the basin. Inside there was very little save the low entrance to a cave.

"Tir, stay here and watch for your mother and sister. I'll go in and see what's on the other side of that cave mouth."

"Good luck," I said, taking his outstretched hand and slowly shaking it. He smiled, then headed down into the ravine. A moment later he disappeared entirely from view.

I stood up there, pacing, for the longest time. Eventually, I sat down and brought out my dagger and examined the weapon for any nicks or dents in the blade. I was both surprised and relieved to find that the blade was undamaged, looking no less new than a few hours ago when I had first received it.

After a while I gave up on that and decided to meditate. I sat down on a rock and began. I closed my eyes and relaxed every muscle in my entire body, from my scalp to my toes, methodically, from top to bottom.

Then I relaxed my mind, focused it, until it was totally blank. Within and without everything was silence and peace. I smelled, saw heard, felt and tasted nothing.

Then I felt a small chill. It ran slowly throughout my entire body, unnerving me greatly. I thought that it was just one of those involuntary shudders that one occasionally has, until it came again. And again. And then I saw them in my mind's eye. Eyes.

A pair of glowing green eyes. Fear very slowly started creeping into my system, permeating every cell. Then the hissing began. Low at first, so low that I barely realized I had heard it. It grew and grew, until terror coursed through my veins like blood. And then I heard the scream.

It seemed distant, far away, as if from another world. I shook myself from my meditation, thinking that I had just fallen asleep. And then the scream came again. Much, much closer. It was a call of sheer terror, Reverberating through the mountains, tortured, and mutilated, as if its maker clung to life by barely even a thread. I wondered where it had come from at first. I looked all around, until it came again.

"Oh god," I gasped, as the whole reality of it hit me like a hurricane. "Oh my good lord in heaven no. No! No!" As if I was pursued by demons I ran for the cave as fast as my legs would carry me. Without even realizing it my dagger and staff were in my hands, ready to be used for real.

I ran into the cave, the top of the mouth grazing my back. I barely noticed it as I ran to a form lying still on the floor. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a match and struck it, lighting the end of my staff. I looked down at the form before me, and the colour probably drained from my face as a groan of horror escaped my dry lips.

He was badly burned across the torso and arms, with a blackened area across his throat. His arms were raised, as if trying to keep something away from his face, and his hair and face were snow white. A look of pure terror was forever driven into his face.

Despite these drastic changes, I knew without a doubt that the one lying dead before me was my father. I also knew that those screams had escaped his throat. My horror at what had happened to him was quickly replaced by a burning thirst for vengeance.

I ran further into the cave, until I came to a bend. Light was coming from the other side. A dull green light, slowly throbbing. I threw myself around the bend and was confronted by a strange silhouette.

About my size, perhaps a bit shorter, rather on the thin, slightly muscular side. What I found the most disconcerting about the figure was that he was floating a foot or two off the ground. Behind the figure was what looked like a swirling, green whirlpool.

I didn't know much about ghosts, but I knew well enough that this was a ghost portal, a door into the realm of disembodied spirits. I threw my staff, fire-tipped end first, at the figure. It caught him in the back, and a yell of pain escaped his lips.

He whipped around, and his fist started to glow as green as the ghost portal. It glowed brighter and brighter until it lit the entire passage. That was when I got a good look at him.

He was dressed in a black and white jumpsuit, mostly black, with white on his gloves, boots, collar and belt. His hair was as white as newfallen snow, and his glowng green eyes bored into mine with the same malicious grin his mouth wore.

I spoke, my voice hoarse and shrill with anger and fear, "Who are you? What are you doing here!"

He looked at me for a moment, frozen grin on his face. Then he started snickering. His snicker soon grew into full-throated diabolical laughter.

"Hey, Mark Hamill, what's so funny!" I bellowed over the noise as it echoed off the walls.

"I have a name, child," he said darkly, the smile all but gone from his face. "Some call me their prey. Others call me the ghost child. But I do have an actual name, you can be sure of that."

With that he pointed his fist at me, and a bolt of green light streaked towards me. It struck me full on in the face, and I howled with pain as I flew backwards. The light must have gone out, because everything was dark.

I got up, dagger in hand as he howled, "I am DANNY PHANTOM!" I struck at where I thought him to be, and I received a blow to the ribs for it.

I was lifted bodily and thrown backwards. Then things became very cold. Piercingly cold. I could only very distantly hear what was going on around me. I felt like an arctic wind rippled through my body. Then, everything, all of my senses, went dark.

Note: Nice plot twist, eh? Actually, it won't get explained in this story, but the sequel, "Way of the Ghost: The D Factor", will get it over with.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: If you've seen it on Danny Phantom, I don't own it. Here's to you, Butch!

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

darkflame1516- Thanks for adding me to your favs list. And yes, you did spell Tir's name right.

the sleep warrior- Once again, thank you. When I wrote that twist I was hoping for a reaction like yours. That and it's critical to the story. Kudos!

Chapter 3 (Life and Death) I wasn't sure where I was when I woke up. It was quiet, and I was lying on something soft. I could dimly feel something poking into my arm. I reached over to grab it when my hand was grabbed in turn.

"Ronnie?" I asked hoarsely, "Is that you? Where am I?"

"Tirrell, relax honey. You're going to be in the hospital for a few days, okay? I'll go get you something to eat."

"Okay mom," I replied, recognizing the voice as I lay back down on the bed. I tried opening my eyes, but either they were unresponsive or I had a blindfold of some sort over them. Either way I couldn't see.

I tried to rest for a bit, but for some reason my mind was restless. I felt like there was something that I'd forgotten, something that I'd missed. Then it hit me. My father was dead.

Gone, finito, caput, dead, six feet under, morbid, picking up daisies, au revoir de terre, whatever you want to call it. He was gone, and I would never see him again. I screamed.

I screamed in pain and grief, pain for my family's loss, and grief for the kind, loving father that was no longer upon this mortal coil.

I howled my agony to the high heavens, begging them to take me as well. I roared and shouted and cursed the name of "Danny Phantom," swearing that I would hunt him to the ends of the earth or die trying.

I must have howled pretty loud, because several people, I assume that they were my mom, sister, and any number of doctors and nurses came in to see what on earth was going on. After I had calmed down somewhat and the doctors and nurses had left, I laid down on my bed again.

I heard someone sit down in the chair beside me, and a tray and fork were placed in my hands. As I ate that disgusting hospital food it would dawn on me every few minutes that my father really was dead. And I screamed and hollered every time. I really don't blame the medical staff for not bothering to even enter the room the last couple of times.

"You were barely alive when we found you, Tirrell," mom said in a quiet voice, "I could hardly hear your heartbeat, and your breathing was shallow as the grave." She continued, "We got you here as quickly as we could, which even at the speed we were moving took about four or five hours. Long story short it was dark when they finally got you into this bed."

"Was there some sort of damage to my eyes?" I asked innocently, "Is that why they're covered with this blindfold?" I held a finger to my right eye, and was surprised when I touched bare skin.

"Sweetie, I hate to be the one to tell you this, I really do," she began as a huge knot began to form in my stomach.

"I'll tell him mom. Go have a rest outside," Veronica said. I heard light footsteps leaving the room, slightly muffling the sounds of barely suppressed sobs.

"This might be easier if I tell you. I don't know why, but it might," she paused, not sure of how to say what she was going to say. I have never blamed her for a second for that.

I guessed, "I'm blind, aren't I?" I asked, gently running a hand across my face, feeling warm, tender flesh instead of the gauzy blindfold I had thought I was wearing.

I heard a slight intake of breath, then she replied, "Yes. And I'm afraid it's probably permanent. If you're ever going to gain back any sight at all, it will be very limited."

"I'm sorry," she said, grasping my hand gently, "I know how you must feel about dad dying while you're still alive."

"No, you don't," I replied icily, wrenching my hand from hers. "No one knows what it's like but me. People always tell me that the mother is the parent that induces guilt, while fathers make us feel like idiots."

"Well they couldn't be more wrong. I'm feeling mighty guilty about what happened, even though my presence in that cave when he was murdered probably would have resulted in my own death as well."

"You probably don't know about this, Tir," she began a few minutes after I had finished, "But I've always been an atheist. I never really believed it when people told me that there was a higher being, a life after death."

"Yesterday that all changed. Every second I've been awake since we found you I've prayed and I've prayed that you'd be alive. I still feel really bad about dad's death, but the fact that you're still alive is proof enough for me that there's a higher being."

I was silent as she continued, "Life is a precious thing, Tirrell. Be thankful that you still have it." With that she gave me a kiss on the forehead and left. Normally I would have uttered some sort of rude comment and wiped it off, but in that instance I just lay down and started crying.

In all my fourteen years of life I never cried until that day. I just tried to get all the pain and misery and anger and grief out of my system. If I'd been using a punching bag, by the time I was finished it would have been reduced to a pile of rags.

I must have cried myself to sleep, because when I awoke I could feel sunlight warming me up. I lay there for a few minutes, basking in the warmth of the sun.

After a little while someone, I assumed it was a nurse, came in. "Morning, Mister Morgan," she greeted me. No one had ever called me that before, unless they were ticked with me, and it really didn't feel right.

"Please, just call me Tirrell, or Tir, ma'am," I replied, extending my hand in the direction of her voice.

"And you can call me Miss Suzuki. I'm the emotional and psychological nurse at this hospital." she answered, taking my extended hand and shaking it gently. "So, Tirrell, how are you feeling this morning? Pretty bad? I wouldn't blame you."

"Actually, compared to yesterday, anyway, I'm not feeling half bad. I got most of my anger and frustration and grief out of my system yesterday. I still feel bad, but I still got the majority of it out of my system."

"That's good. The best thing is to always get it all out," she began. "Believe me I know. My favorite uncle was murdered by his wife and her lover nine years ago. I was quite young then, and I believe that the younger you are the easier it is to get rid of all those bad feelings."

"Sorry to hear about it," I replied. I remembered something and said, "Hey wait a minute, I heard about that on the news. Sorry to hear it. It must still hurt though, huh?"

"Yes, but not nearly as much as it did when I first heard about it. Trust me, the pain will never go away, but it will diminish over time. If your father was as good a man as your family says he was, then he would be happy that you've put at least some of that pain behind you."

"Yeah, that sounds like dad," I said, chuckling, "You know he once threw himself in front of a charging bear just to protect his family."

"Really?" she asked wide-eyed, "He sounds like a very brave man indeed." There was a light knock on the door, and the nurse rose from where she had been sitting. "The doctor wishes to see you now. Goodbye."

"sayoonara," I replied as she left the room. Her light, quiet footsteps were soon replaced by heavier, somewhat louder footsteps.

"Konichiwa, Morgan-san," he greeted me, "How are your eyes feeling today?" "Well, they don't hurt at all anymore," I replied.

"Very well then, let us take a look at them shall we?" he began, as I heard the rustling of a lab coat and the slight jingle and clicking of medical equipment.

Mom and Veronica came in again around lunch, with some very important news.

"I'm going to stop with this whole ghost obsession, Tirrell," she began, "Not only did it get your father killed and you permanently blinded, but long before that it was pulling this family apart. I wouldn't be able to keep at it knowing that I was doing that to you two."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked curiously, "From what I remember you've never done anything outside of ghosts."

"You've never heard about what I studied in college, have you?" she asked. "Before I met your father and I was ever even introduced to the concept of ghosts, I was really into the history of the world. The Sumerians, Egyptians, even the Norse, I knew them all, and I admired them. I also studied more recent history, from the American Revolution to the departure of the Voyagers I and II space probes. Those last ones may not seem like history now, but in ten or twenty years that's just what they'll be called."

"To answer your question, I'm thinking of taking up a career as a history teacher, be it Japanese history or otherwise."

I turned in her general direction for a moment before yelling, "Yes! Yes! YES! I have a normal mom with a normal job! Yes! Somebody pinch me I must be dreaming! OW!"

A lone giggle sounded through the room as I ranted, "I didn't mean that literally!"

"Sorry," Ronnie apologized. "I'll go and check with the front desk to see if you can be released anytime soon." I heard the door close as she left, leaving me and mom alone. I could feel tension building as mom fidgeted in her seat.

"Tirrell, I just wanted to apologize," she said, guilt and sincerity obvious in every word.

"No big," I replied, trying to lighten the mood a bit, "I'll get used to being blind. It might just take a little while."

"It's more than that, Tir," she continued, "I wanted to apologize for how I've acted for so long. I was just so engrossed in my research that I never took the time to see how my family was doing and how you all felt. I realize it now, and I realize what I've done wrong."

"Mom," I cut in, not wanting to hear her bull herself into the ground any more. "I don't care about the past anymore. What matters is now. And now is when you've realized what you did. So long as you learn from your mistakes, I won't be mad at you."

"Thanks, sweetie," she replied, kissing me on the forehead just as the doors swung open and, judging from the voice, Veronica burst into the room.

"Tirrell, I just got through with the front desk, and you can leave the hospital today! Also, she wanted me to give you this. We didn't have enough time to search for your dagger." she handed me a small tube with a round ball at the end. I gave it a flick of the wrist, there was a light "shoonk" and I was holding a stick about three feet long.

"So, now I get to carry around a stick everywhere I go, and my blindness will stick out like a sore thumb?" I hesitated a moment, taking in the unease of this situation before saying loudly, "Cool! I get to carry around a stick wherever I go! So when do we leave?" They both breathed a sigh of relief as they got up. I got up, a bit slower, and followed them. I could actually sense them beside me as I walked down the hallway of the hospital and outside.

It was refreshing to have live air moving through my lungs for a change. Ronnie led me to the car, where I know that I surprised her by finding the handle, the right spot to duck my head without hitting the top of the car, and my usual seat.

Actually, just as I was reaching for the handle, I felt as if my hand sort of phased through it. I quickly withdrew my hand, then found the handle and opened the door.

The drive home was more on the uneventful side than the last few days had been. We talked about this and that and the other thing.

When we made it home I found my way up to my room, where I changed into another set of clothes. My head was a bit loopy, so I sat down on my bed and tried to meditate.

There was still something in my head that blocked out my focus. I set my mind on it and concentrated. My focus was intense, because at one point my sister must have entered the room without my knowledge.

Finally, my mind penetrated whatever it was that kept me from focusing. I could feel some sort of strange energy right in the center of my gut. It radiated out from there to my entire body. And then my mind was calm. So calm and quiet that I could actually hear someone else's heartbeat in the room.

I opened my eyes, and I could see! I could see Veronica standing in front of me, slack-jawed. I could see the bathroom door on the opposite side of the hall. I could even see a fly buzzing around just outside my window.

I turned back to Ronnie and asked, "Isn't this great! I can see again!" I stopped dead after I finished saying that. My voice sounded like it had an echo to it. "Did you stick a toilet paper tube down my throat again?" I asked scrutinizingly.

She shook her head, her mouth still hanging open. "You've got a little spittle running down your chin, by the way. What's with you? You look like you've seen a ghost! Wait, did you actually see a ghost?"

This statement seemed to snap her out of her awed silence. "In a manner of speaking. Come with me, and if mom comes, throw yourself in the nearest closet." I looked at her strangely as she said, "Don't ask. Just do it."

I nodded, and she led me to her room. As I entered she closed the door and locked it. She then sat me down in a chair and started rummaging through her junk. After a short while she passed me a mirror.

"This may come as a bit of a shock, so don't scream too loudly." I nodded, then turned the mirror towards my face. And I screamed. I screamed loud and clear.

Eventually I ran out of breath, just as, to my horror, there was a knock on the door. "Tir, Ronnie, is there something wrong? I thought I heard someone scream."

"It's nothing, mom," she replied, "I just got a paper cut, that's all."

"Well, remember to get it bandaged up, okay? Paper cuts are usually non-lethal, but they sting." Ronnie turned back to me, my face still glued to the mirror. My face had gone white, although that may have just been from sheer surprise.

My eyes were a bright gold, with flecks of light green running through them. My skin was pretty much the same, maybe a bit lighter, but my hair was an electric blue. I looked down at the rest of me. I was dressed in a rather cool-looking white ninja guise, with the fabric held tight at my wrists and ankles by strips of white cloth, gloves and skin-tight shoes for an enhanced grip.

I looked at my waist, which was bound by a black sash, and saw a sheathed blade thrust through it. I withdrew the weapon, sheath and all, from my sash and held it for a moment.

"Could it be?" I thought to myself as I looked along the side of the now white sheath, and saw my name written in Japanese, though now in blue. The pommel of the weapon had changed from ruby to sapphire, and the pattern of the sharkskin had reversed out.

"Well, this is interesting," I said almost indifferently. "The only thing that I need now is-" My sight was momentarily stifled as I felt something slide up over my head and cover my face.

Then I was looking through large eye-holes. As I lifted the mirror to my face again Veronica said, "a ninja mask?"

"Exactly," I replied, looking at my now impressive reflection in the mirror. "Man, if I wasn't so freaked out by this, this would be pretty cool."

"But what am I?" I asked out loud.

"I don't know," Veronica said, looking at me curiously, "But I think it may have to do with whatever happened to you in that cave. What happened in there? Tell me everything that you remember."

"Okay, let's see..." I began right before I heard dad's screams, and ended after I lost consciousness. "So, you never actually saw where you ended up when you fell, right?" she asked.

I shook my head, and she continued, "So by accident you could have ended up landing in the ghost portal, right?" I nodded again, though somewhat hesitantly this time.

She walked over to one of her dresser drawers and withdrew a small volume. I walked over as she sat down on her bed and started flipping pages, until she came to a page marked "The Ghost Portal: Fact or Fiction?"

"I've been reading up on some of this stuff, despite how I feel about it. This is it, Tirrell," she said seriously, "It says here: "A ghost portal is, theoretically speaking, a link between this world and the Ghost Zone, an ectoplasmic opposite to ours. It is not known what would happen to a human if they were to travel through a Ghost Portal, but ghosts appear to be able to travel through these portals to our world unaffected. Results remain inconclusive."

Tirrell, whether you like it or not, I think that you are the result of the crossing of a living person into a ghost portal. It is possible that the part of you that's active now is actually one of the living dead."

I just sat there, stunned. At one point I seemed to be growing shorter, then I looked down and realized that I was actually phasing through the bed. I pulled myself back to my feet as Ronnie started giggling.

"I have got to learn how to control these "ghost powers," or whatever they are," I said, "Starting with trying to change back to how I was before. By the way, who wrote that book anyway?"

"That section at least was written by... Vlad Masters, about five years ago. Well, how did you change into a ghost in the first place?" she asked, now momentarily startled as I disappeared entirely from sight.

"Well, as you saw, I meditated. I tried to calm my mind but there was this tiny bit of unrest in my head that I just couldn't get out until this happened."

"Well, try meditating again, that might do it," she offered. I nodded and sat down on her bed. I tried clearing my mind again, though this time it took much shorter for me to find that slight unease. As soon as I struck it I felt that same surge of energy, and when I opened my eyes again, everything was dark.

"How are your eyes?" she asked curiously. I waved a hand in front of my face. Nothing. Not even the slightest flicker.

"Non-functional, as before," I said, my voice back to normal, lowering my head in depression. "Think I should try practicing my phase-shift for the rest of the day. Is that such a bad idea?"

"No, of course not," she replied, taking me by my shoulders and lifting me to my feet, "So long as you do it in your room and lock your door."

"Wait," I said, stopping in my tracks, "You mean that I shouldn't let mom know about this now? Then when?"

"After you've gained better control of your powers," she replied, shoving me out the door.

I went to my room, and spent the entire afternoon phase-shifting between my human and ghost forms. After a few hours I didn't even need to meditate in order to shift. I actually looked down at myself after a little bit to see what the change looked like.

First, a little electric-blue and white ball formed around my middle, then it shifted and expanded outwards in a ring, sort of like a star going nova.

It was then that I realized that what I had put on was hideous, even by my standards, so in ghost form I found a good pair of green slacks and my almost trademark black hoodie with the red skull on the front.

One good thing about Ayamatzu High was that they, unlike many Japanese schools, do not have set uniforms. Not that I'd be complaining if they did. The skirts that some of those girl uniforms have, nice! Plus, I've tried on one of the male uniforms before, and I look pretty good in one.

Anyway, just as I was slipping on my hoodie, mom called me and Ronnie down to the dining room for supper. We had a meal of foot-long, BBQ-style tender spare ribs.

Just before the meal, mom raised her glass and tapped it gently with some sort of kitchen utensil. The slight ringing caught our attention, and she rose. "I would like to propose a toast," she declared, "To new beginnings, and new possibilities." Ronnie and I exchanged glances as she continued, "To a wonderful late husband, a kind, loving daughter, and a loyal, tolerant son. Also to life, life which we once took for granted. Life which has passed from our knowledge. And the life that we now so deeply cherish."

"Cheers," Ronnie and I replied, lightly clinking our cups against mom's. We ate heartily, talking animatedly the whole time.

We must have sat there and talked for some time, because long after we finished we were still talking. Eventually, mom gave out a hearty yawn, then told us to go to bed.

I went up to my room, finding my way there quite easily, even without the use of my staff. I was asleep within a few moments.

Note: I know that when one is first struck blind, it takes possibly years to gain the heightened senses we all hear so much about. This was no normal incident however. Some of Tirrell's ghost powers seeped into his human form, excluding sight, however.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Once again, if you've seen it on Danny Phantom, I don't own it.

I would like to thank the following for their reviews: the sleep warrior- If I answered any of those questions it would ruin the story for you, now wouldn't it? If you have any ideas I can always use them for the sequel or for a separate series, but I've pretty much got the sequence of events lined up for this one. You've got plenty of time for ideas if you're interested.

Also- Have any of you ever considered what you'd do if you could fly? If I could, it would be something along these lines. Read on.

Chapter 4 (School-zone; Ghost-zone: what's the dif?) I got up that morning, feeling new and rejuvenated. My muscles felt as if they'd been very thoroughly massaged, and I felt much stronger, faster, and happier than I had in a long time.

I changed into my ghost form and found my stuff, backpack, lunchkit, what little homework that had to be done over the weekend and I'd never gotten to and would probably finish on the way to school.

Ronnie and I ate fast and left at about seven in the morning, because we had both agreed that I should get in lots of practise with my ghost powers. We walked to school, me with my staff in hand, and Ronnie a little bit ahead with her books.

When we got to school an hour ahead of time I noticed that she made a turn.

I wondered silently as she headed for what I soon found out to be woods. After a while she stopped in a clearing.

"Transform, Tir." was all that she said. I nodded, and about a second later I was in ghost form. Ronnie was staring at me wide-eyed, and just as I was about to ask why I looked down and saw that my legs were missing!

They had been replaced by a single stream of white that hovered just a few inches above the ground. "Cool! Just a sec, let me give this a try," and I shifted my weight forward, and just missed Ronnie's head.

I was about to crash into the trees when I pulled up, shooting into the air like a falcon after its prey. I flew, inches above the trees, with blurring speed. I made loops, spirals, and some really cool geometric shapes up there before I started to feel tired and headed back down to where Ronnie was.

She was standing on the edge of the woods now, hands on hips, a look of pride on her face.I landed, then transformed back, still a little sad when my sight disappeared.

"Nice flying, Tir! And it looks like you've got the transformation down too. Now let's get to class before we're late!"

First period went by like a breeze, as did second and third. All my teachers understood my condition, and fortunately, there was a rather large supply of braille textbooks around, so I got off rather well.

It was strange though. I'd never even studied braille before and yet I was still the first to finish my math assignment, and in class too. I noticed that Tai had been absent that morning, and was lucky enough that he never appeared before third period gym.

He was a big guy, with considerable muscles across his body. He had dark eyes and hair, and from what I had ever seen always wore a self-satisfied smirk. It was when the smirk came off that those he picked on realized that the time had come to run.

That time came for me just after school had ended. I was by my locker, putting my books away from last period, when I heard just the slightest sound to my right.

I recoiled just as the door to my locker slammed shut. I locked it and then turned just as Tai said, "You are getting quicker, loser-san. But what is this? Your eyes are a dull blue and you wield a tinfoil shinai. Have you gone blind or is it just me?"

"Yes actually," I replied easily, then said sarcastically, "Finally, the genius realizes that I'm blind."

I felt him twitch, trying to control his temper. I could smell smoke, but since no one was screaming or running around like chickens with their heads cut off I assumed that Tai had, well, let's just say he wasn't quite on the ball.

The bustling hallway had gone silent. Tai then said, "What, did your mother accidentally spray you with some ecto-goo and forget to take you to the hospital? Besides, If that stick is all that you have, let me show you a real weapon."

I heard sharp gasps as I heard steel being drawn from its sheath. Somehow it didn't surprise me that he'd resort to such a desperate and painful method of bullying, especially under the influence of whatever he was using.

"What's wrong, Tai? Your own tongue not sharp enough for you, so you got a steel one?" After his last crack I was pretty ticked myself, but I was still in control. That was when the first blow fell.

The air hissed as his blade came in from my left, aimed at my head. My arm whipped up, and there was a loud metallic clang as steel struck steel. Our weapons grated against each other for what in reality was probably a split second, but seemed like hours.

Finally, I twisted his blade over my head and slammed it into the ground. I could still hear it vibrating as he leveled it at me again. "You fight well, Morgan-san. But you shall not defeat me this day, or any other."

"Then I can at least shoot for a tie," I shot back, lowering my weapon. He thrust towards my middle, and at the last second I shifted to the side and grabbed his sword-arm. He attempted a punch to my face, which I blocked with my stick. There was a loud crack as his arm broke, and he fell to his knees. Some might have thought that he was beaten, but given my experience I thought otherwise. I was right.

I heard him pick himself up and raise himself into stance again. There was no exchange this time. He was angry, and I could feel his anger dripping from him like sweat. He struck like a cobra, giving me barely enough time to block his attacks.

Clang after clang reverberated through the halls. I was luck that he only had one usable arm or I'd probably have been killed. He swung at my face, and I intercepted the blow. I then slid to the side, let his sword fall, then smacked him across the face with my weapon. He took a couple of steps backwards, then sat down hard. As much as I disliked Tai I did not like doing this to anyone.

As he tried to raise himself into a standing position again I stepped towards him and pushed him back down. I heard the slight ping of his sword when he hit the ground again, so I struck the hand holding it. He automatically dropped the blade, which I proceeded to kick out of the way. I could hear his laboured breathing, and pointed my stick at his head.

I heard a low growl escape his lips, and I was moderately surprised. After such an experience most people would be cringing on the floor in fear, not snarling their defiance as he did. "You're beaten, Fenbutsu-san," I said, walking past him for the school doors. "Now go to the hospital and get yourself healed and cared for. I'd sure want to see a doctor about that arm."

I walked out of the school, and was about to start heading for home when something flickered across my vision. It was hard not to notice, seeing as I was blind. I waited as it happened again.

The third time my vision stayed active, and I looked around. Something was wrong. Very wrong. My eyes flicked all over the place, until I saw something high in the air over my head. And it was getting closer. I sheathed my walking stick, then dove behind the nearest dumpster. I watched as a bright green ball of flame struck the ground in front of the school.

Something emerged from the smoke and flame. Something big. I knew from a single glance that it was an ogre from Japanese legend, a considerable beast with a mane, a boar's snout, tusks, and enormous claws. If I knew anything about Japanese ogres, it was that this one did not look friendly. The jagged horns and whip in one hand told more than enough.

I dropped back behind the dumpster and said to myself, "Okay, you probably don't have much of a chance against that thing as a human. But you'll definitely have a much bigger chance of at least holding it off while everyone else gets to safety as a ghost!" I phase-shifted into ghost form, then stepped through-not around, through- the dumpster and faced my adversary. It was not a wise idea.

He really was a big guy, at least twice the size of a grown man. If I hadn't caught him by surprise and slammed into his gut, he may well have eaten me.

"Hey, ghosty!" I hollered across the school grounds, "Mount Erymanthus called. It wants its boar back!"

"Scheill nam Arean cahul!" the ghastly beast roared. Rest assured, he was ticked now. He picked himself up off the ground, then charged me. I dodged out of the way, then rammed into him from above like a cannon ball. He hit the ground, shook himself off, and rose to his feet again. One thing was for sure, this guy was big. And learning.

I thought that he was going to attempt the same tactic again, so I dodged to my left. One thing I didn't count on was that he would see that move coming.

As I avoided his charge I saw his whip flick out. It was much too late by that time. The lash twisted around my ankle, and with one sharp jerk the beast threw me to the ground. I was so focused on my opponent and my rather imminent demise that I didn't notice that my body was no longer visible.

As the ogre turned I closed my eyes, not noticing at first that he couldn't see me. I opened my eyes to see that he was looking around, sniffing the earth, and unfortunately drawing closer to my position. I slowly rose into the air, then snuck behind him. Just as he realized where I was, I sprung my trap, grabbing him by the horns and thrusting both feet into his eyes.

He roared in pain, pawing at his eyes, whilst I rained down blow after crippling blow on him. Eventually he lashed out, and caught me across the chest, winding me entirely, sending me crashing to the ground, and I became visible again.

At that moment I noticed that a crowd had formed just outside the school, watching. My thoughts on that were momentarily distracted as the ogre's huge hand descended on my throat.

"Talai kaj tumar, kajis ghantian," he said quietly as he raised his other arm for the killing blow. I grabbed the hand that held me down, and as I tried to force it off I shouted, "Let me go! I have as much a right to life as you do, pal! Well, maybe a bit more of a right, actually."

He raised his fist higher, then brought it crashing down for the deathblow. At that moment I howled at the top of my voice, "Listen to me!"

I waited for a moment for my head to get planted six inches into the ground, but it never happened. I opened my eyes, and looked up at the ogre. His fist was resting a fraction of an inch above my face, and on his face was a look of such surprise that I almost began to laugh.

After a moment the ghost opened his mouth, and I was just as surprised when he said to me, "What did you just say?"

It took me a moment to reply before I said, "I asked you to listen to me. So now that you are, can you please release me to the extent that I can breathe?"

"Of course, sorry," he apologized, removing his hand instantly. "I just thought that you were trying to deal me serious harm."

"I thought that you were here to deal everybody here harm," I answered, "No offense or anything, but you don't look like the friendliest ghost out there."

"Oh, believe me, I get that a lot," he said, sitting down on his haunches. "Especially since finding my way out of the Ghost Zone. I have a flare for the dramatic, you know."

"You don't say," I answered, looking him down from head to toe, "Now about your being here. Why is that?"

"Oh, where to begin," the ghost whined, "The housing costs, the justice system, the lack of familiar friends. Mostly the major upheaval in the Ghost Zone. Many ghosts are heading to this world. That and the housing's one boatload cheaper."

"Well," I said, taking in as much of this as I could, "I don't mean to be rude, and I really do apologize for this, but I'm almost positive that you're aware of humanity's fear of the unknown?"

He nodded, and I continued, "So, if your going to live on this side of the Ghost Portal, I know of a few nice, secluded spots about thirty or forty miles north of here, across the strait, up in the mountains. Got a great view there. Oh, and if you happen to find any other ghosts on your way there, please ask them to come with you. I don't like fighting you guys unless there's no other choice."

He was silent for a moment. I wondered what he was thinking, until his eyes opened and he answered, "Very well, ghost ninja. I will go. And thank you for a little understanding. Most people are just like "prejudice this" and "persecute that," it's refreshing to meet someone out of the loop every once in a while. If you ever need anything, just whistle one short note and one long one."

With that he disappeared from sight, and the entire area was silent. I looked around. Students, teachers, the principal, and several drivers had stopped and watched as my encounter with the ogre unfolded.

"And with that I bid you ado!" I called behind me as I flew off to the woods.

I waited there for Ronnie for a fair while. I practiced my invisibility and intangibility, as well as my now slightly more refined skills, performing simple combinations and movements in midair.

After a while Ronnie finally showed, unshouldering her bookbag as she sat down on an old log at the edge of the clearing.

I pulled crazy, almost hazardous, formations in the air, weaving through trees and around them with almost breakneck speed, as she sat and did her homework.

When she was finished she gave me a call and we headed home. I phase-shifted back to human form, losing my sight once more.

I could tell that Veronica wanted to say something. I could feel the pressure building from the awkward silence.

Finally she said, "Tir, I'm really proud of you. You know that, right?"

"I had a slight feeling. But just what made you so proud, out of curiosity?"

"For one thing, I don't think that anyone's ever beaten Tai so badly into the ground before," she said, laughing a bit.

"I know that," I replied, "But he was still pretty formidable, I'll give him that much."

"That's not the point," she said, stopping and grabbing me by the shoulder. She turned me around and said, "You were great, no doubt about it. I don't think that anyone has ever moved that fast. I saw the whole thing, start to finish. It was the finish of that fight that made me feel proud of you, bro."

"Instead of beating him further or taunting him, you showed him mercy, albeit in the most painful sense."

"Hey, no damage, I'm alright, and in a few weeks he'll be alright and whaling on me all over again."

"Tir, he could have killed you! He could have killed you and you still showed him mercy!" she shouted. "He'll probably be convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to several years in prison. He, with a solid steel katana and roughly two hundred pounds of muscle at his beck and call, faced down a blind kid of no more than a hundred and fifty pounds, and got his tail kicked."

"I'm not going to hold those charges against him, Veronica," I heard her jaw drop as I continued, "I realized then, when he was down on the floor, that as much as I disliked him, I respected him. And I also felt pity for him."

"What fourteen year old can attempt to kill someone, on school grounds, in front of numerous people, without some serious history, whether or not he's been abusing drugs?"

"Well, Tir," she replied after a few minutes, "You've either made a loyal friend today, or one very lethal enemy."

"By the way," she asked slyly, "Do you know what language you were speaking when you were fighting that creature earlier today?"

"Uh, either English or Japanese, I would assume," I answered cluelessly, "You can understand both languages, right?"

"Yes," she replied, then added, "And you were speaking neither of them."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, "As far as I know Arean and I were speaking plain English when I was talking with him."

"No you weren't," she taunted, "That ghost said something quietly, then you yelled something out just as he was about to pummel you into the ground, and before my brain could even register it you two were deep in conversation."

"I'm betting that this is some sort of ghost power," I mused, "Now how on earth did I use it? There was the plea, he raised his fist, I grabbed his hand, then just as his fist came down I yelled, th-"

"Your hands!" Ronnie exclaimed, "That's it! In order to understand his language you had to make physical contact, followed by a synaptic link, connecting your brains just long enough for you to absorb the information in the speech centre of his brain, then translate it."

"Wow," I said, turning my head in her direction, "I think that that may be one of the first sentences that you've ever said that I haven't understood in the least."

"I'll explain it when we get home," she said, "I think that mom should know about what happened at school today."

"With Tai or the ghost-ogre?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh, the ghost-ogre, definitely. Look, if you tell her everything about it, she'll understand."

"Okay, if you say so," I said as we climbed the steps to the house.

We were eating dinner, which contrary to the previous night's, was rather quiet.

After a while mom looked up from her plate and asked, "So Ronnie, how was school?"

"I'll be up in my room. Ask Tir," she said quickly, having shoveled all of her food into her mouth and down her throat in about three seconds.

After she left mom turned a curious eye to me and asked, "What happened, Tirrell? You can tell me about it."

"I broke someone's arm today," I said quietly. I didn't know quite how to tell her, but I don't think that that was the best method.

"How did it happen?" she asked. I think that I was more surprised than her! I'd expected her to explode. I then proceeded to tell her all about said event, including what Veronica and I had discussed on the way home, relating only to the Tai incident, by the way.

She was silent for several minutes, her eyes closed. After a time she opened them, then proceeded to finish her supper before she spoke. I didn't know what to expect.

"Given the circumstances, Tirrell," she said calmly, "You handled the situation well. You could have easily returned what he was going to do to you, but you didn't. Instead you showed him mercy."

"What surprises me most though is that you're not pressing charges. Some parents might, but since this incident happened to you, so I'm leaving it in your hands."

"Thanks, mom," I said, rising from my place at the table and giving her a little hug. "I'll be up in my room." Before I went to my room I visited Ronnie's. I opened the door after she said I could come in.

"So, how did she take it?" she asked curiously, flipping through some old book.

"Well, I guess the whole decision of whether he gets convicted or not rests in my hands. At least twenty other people can testify, including you, but I've got to choose whether or not to prosecute him."

"And we both know the answer to that one," she replied, stopping on a page, reading a small snatch of it, then continuing to flip. "Think about it, sis. He's probably been treated with hostility ever since he can remember. Maybe if someone just extended the hand of peace before reaching for the blade of battle, he might start to understand."

"Tirrell," she said slowly, looking up from her book, "I think that you may have just insanely made a good, strong point."

"I know," I answered smugly. My face darkened as I asked, "Wait, what do you mean by "insanely" made a good point? When have I ever made a bad point?"

"Need I bring up the pudding incident?" she grinned maliciously.

"Good point," I answered, stifling a gasp of horror. "I'll be in my room practicing."

"Practicing what?" she asked curiously, one eyebrow arched.

"The art that I by far have the least experience with," I answered, "Yureido, The way of the Ghost."

"Ah," she answered before returning to her book.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: If you've seen it on Danny Phantom, you know the rest. This chapter , as well as the next few, are going to introduce new enemies to the story, so brace yourself!

Yes! 103 hits and counting! I love you all! (smack!) I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, but anyway, I've now had over 100 hits on this fanfiction. If I knew who you were I'd give all my readers five bucks. Keep Reading! The story gets better yet!

I'd like thank the following for their reviews-

enigmatic penguin- Thank you. I pride myself on my ingenious plot twists. If you want more, keep reading!

the sleep warrior- No, his mom doesn't know just yet. As for Danny's part in the story, I don't think he'll appear again before the sequel. If you want my opinion on any written work, just think through your ideas. It never hurts to add a new character or two, but if you don't, just try to keep everyone in the usual cast in "character" so to speak. Just don't make them do something they wouldn't normally do, unless the circumstances say otherwise. By the way, I like the word ghostliness too. Good luck in your writing! I'll add a few reviews myself!

Chapter 5 (Getting your butt kicked: Priceless!)

Over the next couple of weeks I honed my skills of phase-shift, intangibility, invisibility, and flight. At 88mph, I could move at a pretty good clip. I learned stealth and speed with intangibility and invisibility, combining those skills with my martial arts prowess. School was no big thing. Word about the fight got around, and people were either patting me on the back or keeping their distance.

Even Vice Principal Ishia seemed to hold me in a different regard. Usually she treated everyone as if they were little children compared to her. But to me she showed the same respect she would an adult. It was rather shocking really.

My karate sensei, sensei Yamato, both berated me and slapped me on the back for my achievement, as did my fellow karateka. As for Tai, he didn't seem the same. He was out of classes for a week, and when he came back he looked as if he had been thoroughly humbled. Most people avoided him, though they needn't have bothered. He was as quiet and harmless as a newborn kitten.

He didn't avoid me, or at least he didn't seem to try, but he never belittled me again. The principal tried to press charges at one point, but the police saw it as fitting that the one whom was the "victim" should be the one to press charges. To their great surprise, I didn't. The one whom was most surprised however was Tai.

I'll never forget the look of almost pitiful happiness he gave me when I said I wouldn't try to get him put in prison. Things seemed to be going my way. Or coming.

It was a Monday afternoon, and Ronnie and I were just walking home from school. "So, are you ready for the midterm tests, Tir? I almost failed mine when I was your age."

"Yeah, but you never so much as opened one of your textbooks," I chuckled mischievously, narrowly avoiding the slap that I knew was coming for my face.

"By the way, did you hear the new lunchlady in the cafeteria? If she looks half as good as she sounds then she'd make the sun look like a cold barren cinder."

"She is rather well-endowed, but there was something about her I didn't like. And did you notice Sai Yashimiru? He's one of the nicest guys in the entire school, but after lunch he chewed the head off his best friend!"

"Oh please, Ronnie, you're just paranoid, that's all. Everyone has their breaking point. Sai just reached his early this afternoon. Everything'll be fine by tomorrow, you'll see."

Everything was not fine tomorrow. The coldness that had so suddenly gripped Sai seemed to be spreading.

"I hate to say I told you so," Veronica grimaced as she saw the way a group of friends were yelling at each other, "But I told you so. There is definitely something wrong here."

"Unfortunately I have to agree with you," I observed as I heard banshee-esque shrieks coming from further down the hall.

Lunch rolled around, and things were not looking any better. As a school record there had been over a hundred fist-fights, two hundred and thirty-six yelling contests, thirty-three cat-fights (which were more a form of entertainment than one might think) and just plain a lot of pushing, shoving and harsh name-calling.

Only a handful of people weren't showing the same mean streak, including the hot-sounding lunchlady.

I was just coming back to the lineup when she mentioned, "Isn't that like your fifth helping of triple cheese pizza? You do realize that your last two helpings had a cardboard-based crust substitute and are colder than a frozen hell right?"

"Yeah, but cheese is cheese, no matter what you put it on or how cold it is," I grinned as she gave me another slice.

"Okay then, it's your happiness," she replied almost cryptically. I thought nothing of it and returned to my seat.

"Is that frozen cardboard I smell?" Ronnie asked me wryly as I took my seat beside her at "our" table.

"Ha ha, Colin Mockerie," I shot back, shoving yet another slice down my throat with lightning speed. I was just going back for more when my eyes flickered. I stopped walking as they flickered again, and started moving back over to my seat.

"I told you to stop at your third slice but no, you were still-" she caught the serious expression on my face and went silent.

"Cover me," I hissed as I ducked under the table. Just as I phase-shifted there was a loud crash. I actually leapt through the table as a great figure descended into the cafeteria, and my jaw just dropped.

A woman with lime-green skin and crimson eyes descended to ground level. She wore a sort of red robe over her considerable torso that was bound at her wrists and just above her midriff by gold bands. A matching skirt concealed a great deal of her lower body, save the greater portion of her right leg.

Her midriff and her left shoulder were entirely bare, as were her feet. Long flowing black hair extended down almost to the ground, nearly concealing her right eye. For a ghost, she was gorgeous. However, given her entrance and her ten foot height I assumed correctly that her soul was not so comely as her form.

"BOW MORTALS!" an almost warped, "double" voice roared through the room, "BOW BEFORE DYNASTINA! SURRENDER THE FIRES DEEP WITHIN YOUR SOULS TO ME!"

People fled like deer before a pack of wolves, running for the exits. Ronnie was overseeing the immediate evacuation of the school, helping the teachers in whatever ways she could.

"Hey Giganta!" I yelled as I shot towards Dynastina, "Where's Grod?" My fist connected with her chin, and she flew backwards.

A huge pillar of flame shot high into the air, vaporizing all in its path. She rose again, this time floating just above the ground. Her entire form was swathed in bright red flames, and her eyes were dark with rage.

"INSOLENT WRETCH!" she spat, pointing a burning finger at me, "YOU DARE STRIKE ME! I AM THE MISTRESS OF THE SACRED FLAMES, WIELDER OF THE BEACON OF THE NEXT WORLD! NO ONE STRIKES ME AND LIVES!"

With that she raised both arms and roared, "I WILL DRAIN THE WARMTH FROM ALL THIS WORLD, AND I SHALL DESTROY YOU WITH IT, GHOST BOY!"

"ANSEN HIL TORI!" Her whole body unleashed an enormous fiery shockwave, knocking me back and out of commission. When I looked again, she was gone.

Soon as she was I heard a door slam and the lunchlady rushed to my side. "You poor boy, are you hurt at all? Let me help you up."

I must have shifted back to my usual self, because neither she nor anyone else reacted strangely to my presence out on the school's front lawn. Ronnie found me sitting against a tree.

She sat down beside me and asked, "So, what happened?"

"Say hello to Ghost Enemy #1: Dynastina, Post Sorceress of Fire. She kicked my butt into the ground while I only got her one punch to the face."

"Ooh, tough break bro," she said sympathetically, "Looks like you can't win all of them over with your innate diplomacy."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically. "What got me was how easily that sorceress thwarted me. And what about those magic enchantments of hers? Her lips barely moved and I was on the ground."

"Maybe your ghost powers aren't fully developed yet," she answered, "Maybe that ghost was just too powerful for you. Maybe-"

"Alright, alright I get the point," I growled. We were about to continue our banter when the bell rang, and we were dismissed from school for the day.

School was closed for the next couple weeks or so, so that the cafeteria could be reconstructed. Apparently, the incident had been mentioned on the news, but only of the sorceress ghost, nothing about a white ninja ghost in the lot of it.

Either way, mom had us wearing "Fenton single person ghost shields," shields that deflected ghosts around a single person, patented by Maddie Fenton. They also fired anti-ghost slime, a disgusting green solution that neutralizes ghost energies temporarily.

"There have been reports of at least half a dozen ghost sightings and encounters in this town in the last month alone," she said as she strapped one of the devices to my wrist, "I just want to make sure that you kids are safe and sensible enough not to take them off, especially you, Tir."

There was a slight buzz as the device whirred on my wrist. a tiny voice said, as a tiny tube extended from the shield emitter, "Ghost detected. Engaging anti-ghost spray. Fire!"

If I hadn't been totally covered in six inches thick of anti ghost spray I would have laughed. As it was I just stood there, angry expression on my face and grumbled, "This has long next few months all over it," Just before Ronnie's sprayed me in another foot of goo.

"So, how was that?" I asked, breathing lightly after having just run a ten-mile obstacle course.

"Okay, go!" she said excitedly. The look I gave her must have been intense enough to melt steel because she immediately said, "Twenty-three minutes six seconds."

"Well, I am getting faster," I said as I sat down on a log, "Remember the first time I did that course and went intangible at the wrong time, knocked myself out and ended up stuck in that tree for four hours while you tried to get me down?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "You really are improving, Tir. You're getting faster, stronger and more skilled, in both of the arts you study."

"Oh, that reminds me," I exclaimed, "Do you remember when my karate testing is?"

"Early next month, if memory serves," she said as she put down the text book she had been studying from while I ran my laps. Yet another advantage of our break. Not only was school closed, including every third Saturday, but the midterm tests that we were going to take had been postponed until the school had reopened, and Ronnie was taking advantage of every minute of it.

"You know Tir, Dad would be proud of you," she said as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"What for? All I've done different these days is fight crime in a white ninja getup and acquire ghost powers," I said sarcastically.

"Seriously Tir," she said reproachfully, "You've gotten a lot more responsible since he died, and you're doing more with yourself. Just look at you. Even with your five years of karate you were never this fit, but look now! With or without ghost-form you're way faster, way stronger, and you're more skilled and happy than I've ever seen you! Dad would never say this to your face, but I know that he'd be proud to call you his son."

I sat there a moment, letting her words sink in. Finally I said, "Thanks, sis." and we started walking towards town.

"Uh huh, yeah, I'll have three triple-patty deluxe nasty burgers, two triple-thick Nasty shakes, and what am I forgetting..."

"Hmmm?" I said airily, giving Jazz a look of moderate suspicion. "Oh right, and an onion log, and one Nasty patty and coke for me," she finished.

The cashier punched our order into the register and replied, "Total is one thousand zen. Enjoy." I tried to tune out the cook's lingo in the background as the cashier called, "Hey Yutaka, Ten cows in two mudholes with a tearstick and sizzlers between 'em!"

We took our usual seats by the window and waited for our order.

"Well, school starts up again tomorrow," she said enthusiastically, "And with it so begin the midterm tests. Are you ready?"

"Just barely. The past couple weeks have been driving me nuts. We still haven't seen hide nor hair of Dynastina, that ghost shield mom gave me keeps-"

I stopped for a moment as the device said, "Ghost detected. Engaging anti-ghost spray. Fire!" and covered me for the umpteenth time in goo.

"Spraying me with goo," I finished after I had gone to the bathroom to clean the gunk off. "I don't care what mom says I'm turning this thing off," I said as I threw a tiny switch on the side of the device. It flickered for a moment, then shut down.

"There's your burgers," one of the waiters said as he dropped off our orders. We ate in silence. I wolfed down my three triple patty deluxe burgers and milkshakes like I'd gotten wind of a three-year famine, whilst Ronnie ate more slowly and calmly, watching me gorge myself on junkfood.

I finished just before her, and we were on our way again, walking around town and talking, which, when we have any spare time, is what we usually do.

"You know, I am really starting to hate having these accursed powers of mine."

"Tir, I-" she started to say, but I interrupted her.

"My marks are dropping because whenever I do have time to do my homework there's some ghost or another out rampaging through town, I'm missing karate classes entirely on these late-night patrols, and I've got a thousand other responsibilities to worry about. Why can't I be normal!"

"Because you were given a gift, Tir, not a curse," she answered, laying a hand on my shoulder, "Now you can help people like no one else can. I know it must not seem like much, but I've seen some of the grateful and admiring looks people have given you. There must be some sort of reward in that."

I was about to say something right then, but my vision sparked.

"Oh no," I groaned, "Here? Now? Can't I even get evenings, weekends and religious holidays off?" Ronnie shook her head. I sighed, then hissed,

"Cover me." I leapt behind a dumpster and phase-shifted. That was when the screams started. I shot into the air like a bullet, following the eye-sparking that indicated a nearby ghost. It didn't take long to find.

An enormous pillar of fire had shot from the middle of a crowded street, knocking back several cars and sending a lot of people panicking away.

"YES, MORTALS," I heard a familiar voice crackle, "YES. GIVE ME YOUR HEAT, YOUR DARKNESS! GIVE ME THE DARK FLAMES THAT ROT YOUR OWN PATHETIC HEARTS. FOR I AM THE QUEEN OF FLAMES, AND THE DOOM OF THIS WORLD. TASKIL NEM FERION DRAUS!"

It was Dynastina, in all her fiery glory. And she was growing. Twelve feet and counting.

She extended her hands in all directions, and it seemed as if dark flames erupted from anyone within range and were absorbed into her hands.

As I landed behind her, invisible of course, "AH, IT'S WONDERFUL, ISN'T IT? HARVESTING THE FRUITS OF MY LABORS AND INCREASING MY PYROUS MIGHT? VERY FULFILLING, IS IT NOT, GHOST BOY?"

Before I could move a muscle she shrieked, "TANSUM AUR KAV TAKT!" and my arms and legs were bound by lengths of fiery chain. Dynastina cackled as she stepped closer, until her face was mere inches from mine.

With one hand she firmly held my head in place whilst she removed my mask with the other. "FINALLY, INSOLENT BOY, I HAVE YOU WITHIN MY GRASP, BUT WHAT IS THIS?"

She stared curiously at her hand, which gave off strange black wisps of flame when it came in contact with my skin. "NOW HOW CAN THIS BE, I WONDER? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN SUBJECT TO MY FEAST, YET YOUR HEART GIVES OFF THE SAME TWISTED ENERGY OF SOMEONE WHO'S HAD WAY TOO MUCH OF MY DELECTIBLES."

Her look of curiosity was soon replaced by a wicked grin as she ran a hand down my cheek, slowly exploring the contours of my face. My face, on the other hand, felt as if it was being rubbed with hot pokers.

"HMM, YOU LOOK SO MUCH LIKE HIM, BUT... NO, IT COULDN'T BE. THE LITTLE BLIND BOY AT THE SCHOOL WHO THINKS THAT CHEESE IS CHEESE, NO MATTER HOW YOU EAT IT. COULD THAT BE YOU?"

Inwardly I seethed to myself, wishing that this creature would just leave me alone.

I had been waiting until just the right moment, when she would be most distracted. Now was as good a time as any.

With all my strength I heaved forward and twisted a leg around her ankle, then pushed her backwards as hard as I could.

"Now you listen to me!" I said as she fell backwards, "I don't care how powerful you are, I don't care what kind of dark-hearted fool you think I am, but I am going to stop you if it kills me!"

"STOP ME? MY DEAR BOY AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED YOU'VE ALREADY LOST!"

"TASHIR!" and in a wisp of smoke, she was gone.

"She knows who I am," I whispered to myself, "But how?"

Author's note: The identity of Dynastina is obvious, isn't it? for those of you that haven't guessed though, I'll leave the explanation to the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own DP. There, I said it. Stop laughing.

Thanks for the reviews from:

the sleep warrior- Yes, when I mentioned Jazz back there it was a typo. Sorry if I confused anyone. That was supposed to be Ronnie.

And about the eye-sparking thing, first of all, I thought that it had to be something he'd really notice, and second, he acquired his powers in a different way than Danny, so it makes sense that his ghost sense, as well as his other powers, would be a bit different, though their basic ghost powers are the same. As to the Phantom Menace thing, I can't believe I missed that! You're welcome on the advice, by the way.

Read on!

Chapter 6 (Dark Fire)

"You're joking!" Ronnie almost screeched as I told her the bad news, "How on earth could she have figured it out?"

"I don't know either," I answered. "She seemed so sure it was me because of-- uh oh."

"What? What is it?" she asked curiously.

"It's her," I said quietly, almost paralyzed, "The lunchlady at our school, it's gotta be her!"

Ronnie gave me a weird look, so I explained, "When Dynastina had me restrained, she mentioned that she recognized me because, first off, I'd eaten too many of her "delectibles." Second, she asked if I could be the little blind boy that thinks cheese is cheese, no matter what it's spread on. Who else could it be!"

"You know, I think you're actually right," Ronnie said after a moment of thought, "Well, we've figured out the link between Dynastina and everyone's dark moods."

"How do you mean?" I asked. Now it was my turn to be mystified.

"Think about it. New lunchlady comes, so does triple cheese pizza. Triple cheese pizza comes, so does unusually bad behaviour in students. Bad behaviour comes, so does Dynastina. Can you think of why she would want people to act so darkly?"

"She a sorceress of fire, and she called that bad behaviour the "dark flames in our hearts". Every time she absorbed that stuff she seemed to grow larger and stronger."

"We get back in school tomorrow," Ronnie said out of the blue. After a split second of thought our heads whipped around and we yelled, "The school!"

"So we're sure she's gonna be here?" I asked as we flew there. "Do we even know how we're going to beat her?"

"No, we don't, but we've got to stop her before she can harvest anymore energy and she grows too powerful for us to handle. It's now or never."

We landed just outside the schoolgrounds, behind a clump of bushes. "You stay here and keep watch. I'll go after Dynastina, ok?"

"Fine, I'll do it, but I won't like it," she sulked as she sat down on the cool ground.

"Alright then," I said expectantly, cracking my knuckles, "Let's rock."

Moving as cautiously and quietly as I possibly could I worked my way along the schoolyard. Even though I was invisible, able to ghost through anything, and flying, I was taking no chances.

The halls were dark, and if not for the excellent night vision my ghost eyes allowed me I might not have been able to see at all.

The courtyard, the front office, various rooms and labs, all seemed so dark and secluded. Just as I was crossing the gym I stopped. I waited for a moment, then the sound came again. The tiniest hint of laughter.

As slowly as I possibly could I phased through the floor, ending up in the basement. It was dark. Very dark. But the laughter was louder now, more discernible from the usual background noise.

Very stealthily I moved towards the noise, until I was directly under the school kitchens. I watched in silence from one of the grates as I beheld a horrific spectacle. Dynastina was there alright. And she was very busy indeed.

Huge platters held enormous amounts of pizza. That was where the small goodness in this act ended. As I watched, she spoke some strange enchantment that I couldn't capture, and a rip appeared in thin air. It grew larger and larger until I could tell that it was a swirling green.

The gorge rose in my throat as numerous tiny spirits flooded from the rip and swarmed over the pizza. In a minute they were gone, having burrowed into the pizza itself.

"YES, MY CHILDREN," Dynastina cooed suddenly, "STAY THERE AND GROW A WHILE, THEN WHEN THEY EAT YOU, GROW AND FESTER. POISON THEIR HEARTS WITH YOUR MALICE! THEN I, THE PRINCESS OF ALL THINGS PYRO, SHALL RULE THIS GLOBE!"

"INDEED, MY CREATURES DO DARKEN THE HEARTS OF THE INNOCENT, DO THEY NOT, BOY?" I had about a split second to fly from my hiding place before she melted it with a quick flick of her hand.

I landed on the floor, facing her, and exclaimed, "So you're the reason that everyone's acting so weird! Those spirits infect the pizzas, then they infect the student body, then you come along and harvest the very hatred you've bred in the first place!"

"VERY GOOD, BOY. THEIR WORK HAS ALREADY BEGUN. YOU WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO BE FULLY HARVESTED. A MIDNIGHT SNACK, IF YOU WILL. BY THE TIME I'M DONE HERE, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO START WORRYING ABOUT MY WAISTLINE."

"Don't think you're going to get the opportunity," I threatened as I charged forward.

"TASEN KIMAS!" she shrieked. A huge bolt of blue flame shot from her fingertips. I ducked as fast as I could, and the attack missed. Barely.

"KAUMUS STROTH!" as a whip of flame flicked from her right hand. I tried to evade the vicious weapon, but I was caught by it underneath my left arm. The kitchen soon became a maelstrom of flame.

I was getting singed, while Dynastina was having a ball at my expense.

Finally, her lash whipped across my face, and I fell heavily to the ground. I struggled to my elbows and knees, when her foot lashed out and caught me in the stomach. I hit the ground a few feet away and rolled until my back came in contact with the counter. No matter how much I heaved and I groaned I couldn't move.

"IT IS USELESS TO RESIST ME, BOY," Dynastina taunted, her body wreathed in light blue flames, "ESPECIALLY WITH MY SEEDS PLANTED AND GROWING IN YOUR HEART."

She snickered, then summoned her chains of flame and lifted me into the air, until we were standing eye to eye, literally speaking.

"THE DARKNESS IN YOUR HEART HAS GROWN, CHILD. AND IT HAS GROWN QUICKLY."

"You're wrong," I rasped back, "I'm not like that. I am not consumed by hate, and poison. I cannot let you kill me."

She grinned from malicious ear to ear, and lifted my mask with both hands, then placed each hand just below my ears. It burned, and I tried to recoil at the touch.

"GIVE ME YOUR SOUL. GIVE ME THE DARKNESS IN YOUR HEART. GIVE ME ... OMNIPOTENCE." I could see and feel the energy inside me leaving.

Dark wisps of flame were slowly crawling up her arms, until they were absorbed into her, at about her shoulders. There must be some way to beat her, I thought to myself. If I could just find some way to stop her. A charm, a ward, a spell, a-- a spell?

An idea came to me, and summoning up the last of my strength I shifted my arms slowly forward.

"STILL TRYING TO STOP ME? MY DEAR BOY YOU ARE ALREADY SO DAMNED THERE WOULD BE NOTHING A THOUSAND OF YOU COULD DO ABOUT IT!" I persisted, and the chains around my wrists tightened and contracted. My arms were jerked back, but only marginally.

I was still struggling against the intense heat, trying to reach my target.

Just then a familiar, monotone computer voice chirped, "Ghost detected. Engaging anti-ghost spray. Fire!"

I watched in what could have almost been merriment as Dynastina was covered in several inches of ghost goo. Her powers momentarily nullified, I rushed forward and clapped my hands against the sides of her face.

"Listen to me!" I roared at the top of my voice, my eyes closed. Energy sizzled and sparked from my fingertips in a blaze of white light as my mind delved into Dynastina's, searching for the one tiny piece of information that could stop her.

I feel it, I said to myself. I could feel that tiny piece of information floating just beyond my grasp. There!

With a slight lunge I took hold of it, and I knew what I had to do.

My eyes snapped open, and I beheld Dynastina's snarling visage. She knew what I had been searching for. My eyes opened wide for a moment, then a triumphant grin spread across my face. Her own visage turned to a look of what one might describe as fear.

"Kassil," I rasped quietly.

"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!" she shrieked as a green rip appeared in front of her face. She was quickly sucked into its considerable pull, as were her malicious little minions. Even cheese couldn't protect them from the power of a Ghost Portal.

The Portal still hadn't closed after a few minutes, and I wondered at this until the rest of the little spirits that were already inside people were sucked in. After the Ghost Portal had closed, I fell to my knees, panting for breath.

My eyes were closed, so I didn't notice Ronnie step forward and kneel beside me until she asked me to breath through my nose.

I complied, and she started pouring cool, sweet water down my throat. I sucked it down gratefully, great gulps of life's nectar flowing down my throat.

After what seemed like way too short a time, the water stopped, and I was hoisted to my feet. Ronnie and I spent the next hour or so limping home.

The next morning I felt much better. I checked my injuries, and aside from the odd rough scar that indicated where I had been injured, there was no other sign of the previous night's triumphant battle save my own slight exhaustion. And that was fading with every passing minute.

I stopped at the top of the stairs when I heard mom speaking very, very sternly.

"You, young lady, are grounded for the next two weeks. No extracurriculars, no friends, and if you're not home each day by four, then your grounding will be extended by another week. Is that completely clear?"

"Yes mom," Ronnie answered resignedly.

"Good. Now go get your brother and tell him to get down here. I need to talk to him as well." I heard Ronnie come up the stairs towards me. "Brace yourself for the hurricane," was all she said, and all she needed to say.

Putting my training to work I moved down the stairs as stealthily as a jungle cat.

Balancing on the ball of each foot I crept down the side of the stairs. Every time I set one foot down my toes grasped the rough surface to keep me from sliding. After a short while I came to the bottom of the stairs, where I could feel the atmosphere instantly change.

I heard mom sit down in a chair by the table.

She let the tension build for a moment before she spoke, "I'm not happy, Tirrell. Not happy at all."

"Where were you and your sister last night? I went up to check on you both and you were gone."

"It's a long story," I began. I didn't know what to say after that, but I didn't get the opportunity anyway.

"It's a long story that the news picked up quite well," she said flatly. I heard a tape rewinding, then the entire fight scene and more rolled out.

"I'm Gichin Avatzu reporting this scene, taken from the security camera in the cafeteria of the local highschool."

"It would appear that last night, just after reconstruction of the damaged building had finished, a strange-looking woman, possibly the same ghost that has been seen harassing our small town for the last couple weeks, tried to perform some arcane ritual on the cafeteria's cheese pizzas."

"Before she could finish doing so, however, she was thwarted by what looks to be a smaller ghost, dressed in a white ninja uniform."

"The smaller ghost, after the larger one had been covered in some sort of strange goo, appears to have zapped the other, then opened a portal and banished her and whatever she was putting into the pizza to some unknown location."

"After the woman ghost was gone, it appeared as though a young girl assisted the Ghost Ninja and helped him away. The identity of this girl has yet to be discovered.

"I'm Gichin Avatzu, signing off." The TV flicked off, and I heard mom turn back towards me in her seat. Here it comes, I thought to myself.

"Now I'm not sure who those two ghosts were, Tirrell, but I'm almost positive that the girl helping that "Yurei Ninja" after the fight was your sister. Now pray tell, where were you during all of this?"

"Uh, I was standing watch," I said rather weakly. "Outside the school, so that nobody would try and enter school grounds."

I could feel mom's eyes boring into me, and I tried to keep from betraying any of my emotions.

Finally she said, "I believe you, Tirrell. It's certainly a very plausible truth. But I would ask you to keep an eye... sorry, an ear, on your sister. If there's anything between her and this ninja ghost, I want to know about it."

"You'll be grounded for the next week, and if you're not home by five each night then your grounding will be extended another two weeks. Am I making myself clear?"

The part of me that wasn't totally grossed out replied, "Perfectly," and I left.

"And she thinks that there may be something between this Ghost Ninja and me?" she almost exclaimed. I nodded.

"Eeeeewwwwwww! That's sick," she said, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"My thoughts exactly," I answered, "But keep in mind that she doesn't know about it, so she can mess up facts. Let's just try and keep the secret quiet for the next little while and break it to her when the time is right. As to when that is, I haven't the slightest inkling."


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own DP, end of story. I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

enigmatic penguin- sorry I didn't mention you in ch.6, but by the time I caught wind of your review for ch.5 I'd already submitted ch.6. Thanks for adding me to your favs. Yes, I've always enjoyed my pizza cold with a cardboard crust (not!). And yes, all those different terms I used do relate pretty much to ecto-goo.

the sleep warrior- YOU HAVE NOT ONE, BUT THREE OF THOSE BIG COMFY BUSINESS CHAIRS! Sorry about that. Actually, no, I've never really found Star Wars to be my thing, although I do enjoy the odd Star Trek. I know they're not the same thing, but still. I don't know jabba's eye-colour either, so don't feel bad.

Now, on with the show!

Chapter 7 (The Triple T Trouble)

Two weeks rolled by. I'd never known that the Japanese town we lived in celebrated Halloween before that year. Early October brought with it cooler weather, and skies started growing dimmer earlier.

The people loved the season, the cold, the closeness, the approach of Halloween, and the spiritual nuances of their own traditions. And with the Halloween season came ghosts.

Their numbers increased gradually over time, but I did notice that there seemed to be more of them. With every ghost I thwarted my reputation with the locals grew.

I did notice the grateful, awe-inspired looks the people gave me as I gave them the deliverance they so needed. Mom grew more concerned for our safety than ever. She bought us "Fenton Specter Reflectors," belts we were forced to wear that prevented ghosts from touching us, and deflected ghost energy. The only good thing I noticed about them was that they wouldn't spray me with ghost-goo every few minutes.

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I was at my locker that afternoon, getting ready for final period gym. Just as I was grabbing my gymbag I sensed someone behind me.

"Morgan-san," I heard a very small yet familiar voice ask, "I would ask your help with something."

"Uh, Tai, is that you?" I asked, almost unsure of who I was hearing, "What exactly do you want?"

"Morgan-san, I mean no disrespect," he said, and given the position of his voice, he sounded as if he was bowing, "I only meant to ask your help with my math homework after school. I have a test coming up next week and I am not quite ready for it."

My head was reeling. No one had ever treated me with this kind of respect before. This was especially the last source of that respect I expected.

"Uh, I don't think I have anything occupying me after school for the next few days. My place or your place?" I asked without thinking.

"You would let me into your own home?" he asked quietly. I nodded, and he rose, bowed again, then said, "Thank you, Morgan-san! I shall not forget this!"

I stood there for a second, utterly confused. Then the bell for classes rang, I cursed under my breath, and ran as fast as my legs would carry me for the gym.

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"I mean really, sis," I explained to Ronnie on the way home after ghost practice, "First this guy treats me like the gum on the bottom of his shoes, then he totally avoids me, now he's actually asking me for help with his schoolwork. Did I really hurt him that bad?"

"I don't think that it's how badly you hurt him, Tirrell," she pointed out, "I think it's how effectively you healed him."

I arched one of my eyebrows, and she explained further, "Perhaps, when he thought you were going to finish him off, or when he thought you were going to get him sent to juvie, and you didn't, something about that so extremely opened a new point of view for him that he never even knew existed. I think you've done more for him already than anyone can imagine."

"Oh, by the way, I'm going to get my campaign together for my "Save The Endangered Animals", or STEA, fundraiser next week. Now, here's a list of everything we're going to need..."

I heard her bookbag drop to the ground as she rummaged through it. Finally, she came up with a braille notebook that weighed in at about fifteen pounds and handed it to me.

"Uh, Ronnie, this is great and all, but I'm already helping Tai with his schoolwork every night after school. I'm sorry, but I just can't help."

"But you always help me with this fundraiser," I could feel the youthful energy shoot from her with extreme speed. She accepted her notebook back and started walking.

"Look, sis, I'm sorry," I said comfortingly, laying a hand lightly on her shoulder, "But I promised him I'd help. If I had any spare time I'd gladly-"

The breath came out of my lungs in a "whoosh" as a set of fully-trained "tiger claws" rammed into my stomach and lifted me bodily off the ground.

"Tirrell C. Morgan!" she shouted, "You can ditch me to help some ex-jerk of yours, you can tell me to stand watch while you duke it out with some ghost-sorceress, but don't you ever, ever, try to patronize me again! You got that!"

I was still trying to get my breath back a few minutes later, after she had stormed off.

"Oh man, this is definitely not the best day of my life." This observation was quickly confirmed when my eyes sparked, and quickly as I could I headed for the nearest dumpster. Having then transformed, I flew off in the direction of the disturbance.

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People were running and screaming, which is always a sure sign of some kind of civic threat or disturbance. Just as I zeroed in on the location, something large and white zipped by me.

I whipped around, but saw nothing. There were still people screaming down below, so I ignored it and flew down.

A huge black tiger had cornered three people, two of which were my classmates. The stripes across its body were a light blue, and it bore a white collar with black spikes studding its circumference.

I flew behind the beast and, in an attempt to distract it, shouted, "Kwobba kwobba kitty kitty?" before ramming into its back with both feet. I leapt off its back and landed in front of my terrified classmates.

"Run!" was the only word I needed to utter before they took off. Without thinking I turned and whipped out my dagger, its ghostly blade translucent in the light of the late afternoon.

The black tiger rose from the pavement, shook itself off, and snarled in a deep, intimidating voice, "FOOLISH CHILD. NO ONE DARES STRIKE TARRA AND LIVE! YOU SHALL DIE FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"

We circled each other like experienced hunters, each looking for an opening. I misstepped, and the cat charged with lightning speed.

I barely had time to roll out of the way before its jaws clamped clean through the pavement I had been lying on a second before. My foot flicked up and out, catching the beast in the side of the head.

It responded by leaping on top of me and trying to chew through my dagger. I only just barely held back its slavering jaws, having wedged my blade against the back of its mouth.

When its enormous fangs were no more than an inch from my face I groaned, "Get Off!" and kicked out with both feet. It flew a short ways before it landed on its back.

I rose to my feet and was just about to banish it back to the Ghost Zone when something rammed into me from behind and knocked me to the ground. When I regained my feet, the beast was gone.

"Hey, it's him," I heard someone say behind me. "It's Yurei Ninja."

I turned my head and saw a considerable crowd, some ticked, some overjoyed, and some with expressions of awe on their faces. I bowed low, then phased through the ground. I went invisible, then phased back into the open air and left the scene.

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"I'm home," I called as I stepped in the door. I heard my sister's flute-playing in the background, so I had nothing to fear for the moment. I walked into the kitchen and took off my jacket as I asked, "So mom, what's for dinner?"

"What happened to your sister today?" her question caught me offguard, "She slams the door, mumbles something about some jerk, then stomps up to her room."

I sighed, then sat down and explained everything that had happened. "What am I going to do?"

"Your sister can be pretty headstrong sometimes, a tad inconsiderate, and she's tougher than most grown men twice her size," she said as she prepared supper, "But underneath it all she's rather sensitive, if you know where to needle her."

"I didn't mean to needle her mom," I said defensively, "But I promised someone that I'd help them, and as you know, my word is my bond. I can't go back on that."

"I know that sweetie, but this is one of the most important events your sister celebrates every year. And to her, a big part of that event is seeing your combined efforts complement each other. You two work as a team. One of you can't function at optimum without the other."

"Remember two years ago in Zimbabwe, while Veronica was holding her fundraiser, and you dressed up as Tora the Endangered Tiger, and all the children worked together and strung you up by your tail and used you like a pinata? That was a huge hit!"

"Yeah, no pun intended," I said as I rubbed my back, "But do you really think that Dad and some of his students there counted as children?"

"That's not the point," she said quietly, putting down her cooking equipment for a moment, "The point was that it was her idea, but you carried it out ingeniously. You two work best together."

"You have a point," I conceded, "But why do I absolutely have to sacrifice hours and hours of my own time just to satisfy my sister's strange habits?"

To this I received no reply, and if the heavy, almost deranged breathing behind me was any indication, I could understand why. The high-pitched whistle of Ronnie's flute had stopped.

"My sister is standing behind me with the look on her face that earned her the nickname "tiger claws" isn't she?"

Before I realized what was happening I was heaved bodily from my seat, high into the air, and chucked down the stairs with the sentence "Good guess, Tora!" ringing in my ears.

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"And here we are," I said, throwing my arms wide, "The Morgan abode. It's not much but it's what we call home. What think?"

"A place worthy of sheltering its occupants," Tai replied, "So, when do we study?"

"As soon as we get a snack," I answered, walking up to the front porch and unlocking the door. "Hey mom," I called, hearing cooking equipment running, "What's for dinner?"

"Pizza, with every flavor imaginable on a separate piece," she answered, "Oh, is this the modest young man who wants my son's help in school?"

"Mom, stop embarrassing me in front of my peer," I edged as my hand groped for the cookie jar. I grabbed us each a couple of cookies as we rushed up to my room.

"So where do you want to start?" I asked, plopping down in the seat beside my desk, while I offered him the chair.

Before he could answer I heard loudly from downstairs, "Mom! I'm back from the six separate stores all across town, grabbing everything I'm ever going to need for my STEA fundraiser next week! I'll be down in the basement beating the stuffing out of a punching bag I've made to look like some little jerk's head!"

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hall to Ronnie's room. Within a few minutes the footsteps had left, descending into the basement, where some scrap of fluff would undoubtedly suffer for my crimes.

"What was that all about?" Tai asked as he turned back to his work.

"Just my sister getting ready for some fundraiser," I answered, "Relax, she does that from time to time."

"Yell, or prepare for a fundraiser?" he joked. It was actually the first joke I had ever heard him say that didn't have me as the butt of it.

"Both," I replied with a chuckle, "And this time she's mixing them."

We both laughed for a while, then got back to work on Tai's studies. He did need help with his math, though not nearly as much as I had expected.

Suppertime rolled around, and we asked him to stay for supper. He declined, thanked us for our hospitality and left.

"Are you sure that he's the same guy that always ran your nose into the dirt?" mom asked.

"I don't think even I'm all that sure about it anymore," I answered, "Either way I'm not complaining."

"So, where's Ronnie?" I asked as I sat down in my usual seat.

"Still downstairs as far as I know," she answered.

"How long can she be down there relieving stress?" I asked no one in particular.

"She's got a lot of stress to deal with sweetie, not including all her preparation for the fundraiser, her judo testing is coming up, and she has to study for a big test she's going to be having in a few days. The fact that you're not helping her with her fundraiser is only increasing the stress that she has to deal with."

"Yes, but why do I have to feel like I'm the guilty party here? I'm not the one in the wrong!" My breath caught in my throat as I was rudely heaved from my seat.

Amid a great deal of tooth-grinding I discerned the words, "Let's try an under-hand shot this time!"

I was whirled around once, twice, then heaved down the stairs, again.

"Well, at least her distance is improving." I said to myself.

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Suppertime came and went underneath a tense silence, then I went upstairs and did my homework.

Just as I was dropping off to sleep a couple hours later my eyes sparked.

I sat up in bed for a second, thinking, "Can't these guys at least take the evenings and weekends off like everybody else?"

As I knew was my responsibility I got out of bed and flew off into the night sky. The stars were out, the moon was full, and the street lights below set the entire city aglow with cool blue light.

The eye-sparking grew worse, and I soon found myself over an intersection in the middle of town.

"Intersections. Why is it always intersections?" I asked as I cloaked myself and descended to the street. Once again something white flickered past my face, but I paid it no heed.

Fortunately almost no one was around, though given the amount of screaming these six people in a minivan could do that was soon to change.

Tiger boy was at it again, and this time I gave him no warning. I just rammed into his side as hard as I could.

"I thought I made myself clear last time," I said, uncloaking myself and drawing the dagger at my waist.

"THAT IS A KEEN BLADE, WHELP," the beast spoke, "BUT IT IS NOTHING TO TARRA'S CLAWS." That said Tarra started to grow, and it wasn't until his huge muzzle towered fifteen feet over my head that he stopped.

Very slowly his enormous claws unsheathed, and swept down at me with surprising speed. I leapt out of the way and struck my blade against his claws. There was a resounding ping as I was thrown backwards by the impact.

I landed on my toes, then backflipped as his claws came down on me again. I rolled to one side and slashed my blade across his foreleg.

There was a resounding whump as a huge length of white light shot from my dagger and struck Tarra full on in the chest. He roared in pain as the force of my attack threw him backwards. When the sparks and dust cleared Tarra was lying on his side at normal size, a narrow gash across one side of his chest.

I looked down at my dagger and saw that it was glowing a brilliant white, and it almost seemed to be humming with power.

A tiny shudder from my adversary snapped me out of this reverie, and I approached him, my left hand extended. I uttered the banishing word "Kassil," and within a moment the ferocious feline vanished.

A few people, including a policeman or two, had started to gather, so I cloaked myself and departed the scene.

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I had not gotten much sleep that night. And it showed. I returned the scathing glare that I knew Ronnie kept flashing me, which is something that if I had been fully awake I would never have done.

I slept through almost all of first period, and a good chunk of second. Lunch hour came and went and I was still in a bad mood.

I was so mad that I actually ran the 1500m twice in third period gym, and burned through last period without quite picking up what we were doing.

As I was putting away the stuff in my locker I heard Tai ask, "So, Morgan-san, when do we leave?"

"If the rest of my day has been any indication, never," I hissed, and headed towards the door without another word.

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Things went about the same as the previous day's events, we studied, I helped Tai finish his homework, and we joked around for a bit.

This time, when asked if he could stay for supper, Tai accepted the invitation, and we sat down to eat within the next half hour.

At first the meal seemed to be going well. Ronnie was talking gregariously with mom, whilst Tai and I talked as well.

The storm broke as I reached over for the salt and accidentally tipped the pepper shaker. By sheer bad luck the lid popped off and covered Ronnie's plate with pepper.

Before I could twitch her claws were on my wrist and I was shoved forcefully onto the floor. I was then picked up by the front of my shirt and heaved against the wall, her twisting one of my arms behind me.

"Is there a problem, dear brother?" she hissed venomously into my ear, "Or are you just trying to make my life even more of a living hell?"

The two pressure fronts met. The anger I had been feeling earlier that day returned in an instant, and I thrust backwards as hard as I could, overbalancing and falling on top of Ronnie.

Skilled though she was she was still lighter than me. I rose from that position and turned around once I was in a standing position.

"Would you just get off my back already!" I roared, "I've tried to be considerate, I've tried to hold my temper in check, but this is the last straw! I'm sorry I couldn't help you, but I have a life outside your stupid little fundraiser, okay!"

In the background I only very dimly heard Tai say, "Uh, I'd better leave now. Sayoonara!"

Once he was gone I stormed down to the basement in a fit of rage. I almost feel sorry for my punching bag, seeing as I was down there for a fair while. I stopped only after the chain holding it to the ceiling snapped and broke. Then I stormed up to my room and stewed for a while.

I was interrupted from my stewing as my eyes sparked severely, indicating that a ghost was very close to my present location.

I went out and hunted for it a while, until I landed in an alley behind a sushi restaurant, and heard someone sniffing through the dumpster behind me.

"Uh, hello? Who's there?" I asked from a short distance away. A revolting stench accompanied a strange little guy sticking his nose up over the edge of the dumpster.

His skin was green, and he was dressed in some sort of grungy jeans and a t-shirt.

"Can I help you?" I offered, pinching my nose to try and stifle the gagging stench.

"Beware, mortal! For I am the Eunagi Yurei!" he exclaimed in a rather dumb-sounding voice.

It was all I could do to keep from laughing. "Dude, you do realize that eunagi is a kind of eel, right?" I asked through my fits of hilaric gagging and snorting.

"Insolence! You have disrespected my calling! Now prepare to face the wrath of my gross, slimy legless minions of doom!"

My laughter faded instantly as I was slapped across the face with a dead eel.

"I don't have time for this," I sighed, then hefted the little ghost into the air with a swift uppercut. After that, it was basically just a game of "Keep the annoying little Ghost from hitting anything but your Fists," which proved to be very stress-relieving.

After a while I finally grew tired of my fun and banished the little guy back into the Ghost Zone. Then I high-tailed it home.

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Since I had ended up on the opposite side of the house I decided to save a little time and phase through Ronnie's room to mine. I was greatly surprised by what I saw.

Decorations, lists, almost anything imaginable for a fundraiser, was crammed into her room, on almost everything save her bed. She occupied that space right at that moment, crying her lungs out.

Her eyes were red, and there was a certifiable mountain of tissues in her garbage can. She didn't notice my presence, so I just continued on to my room and sat down on my bed.

"Great. Just great," I hissed at myself, "Why don't I go the whole nine yards and slap my mom across the face or make my dad roll in his grave?"

"Okay Tarra," I warned, "We can do this easy, or we can do it real easy. Take your pick."

He responded by leaping at me with a huge roar. One blow from my suped-up dagger threw him against a building, and he fell to the ground, beaten for the third time in as many days.

"Great, my sister's fundraiser is the day after tomorrow and all I can do is hunt ghosts," I thought to myself after I had once again returned Tarra to the Ghost Zone, "I seriously need to get a hobby."

"Yurei Ninja-san?" someone asked. I turned around and was confronted with a small boy, no more than eight, holding a pad of paper and a pen. "Can I get your autograph?"

"No, but I'll sign that piece of paper for you," I joked. I signed the slip of paper "YN" and then flew off, waving back at the numerous people who were whistling and chanting my praises.

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"How on earth could this be happening?" I asked myself, "How does Tarra keep coming back from the Ghost Zone? I've faced twenty separate foes, most of which I only beat out of sheer dumb luck, and of them, only two have returned more than once, including Eunagi Yurei."

"And I have got to get my vision checked. It's like every time I turn ghost a white blurb shoots across my vision."

"Tir, sweetie, it's time for supper!" mom called. Since I knew that it was "wing night," I made it to the dining room as fast as I could go.

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"Morgan-san?" Tai asked while we were studying. He was getting considerably better with his math. As a matter of fact, I was surprised he still asked for my help. He would most certainly get very high marks on the test.

"Have a hard problem there?" I asked, flipping through the pages of Ronnie's "Ghosts for Total Stink-Bugs," book, written by Jack Fenton, who states on the back cover, "Ghosts! Where!"

"In a manner of speaking, Morgan-san," he answered.

I sat up on my bed and asked, "So, what's the problem?"

"Be honest with me," he said, "Why is your sister so mad at you?"

I sighed, then said, "My sister is mad at me because she sets up a fundraiser every year. It's sort of become a tradition of hers."

Tai nodded, and I continued, "And part of the tradition is that I have to help with it. Instead I'm here helping you with your homework and studying. That's why she's so ticked off with me."

Tai sat silently for a moment, contemplating what he had just heard. After a moment he clapped his book shut and got up.

"Let's go."

"Go? Go where?" I asked.

"To your sister's fundraiser, of course," he answered, "My studies can wait. I'll pass the test anyway."

"Tai my man, I like the way you think," I said, practically jumping off my bed, "Now let's go trim the tiger's claws!"

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We made our way up the steps to Hitori Hall, where the fundraiser was being held.

The building was as old as it was large, built over five hundred years ago, without a single fire, typhoon or otherwise severely damaging it.

It was one of the first buildings in town, and was the town's namesake.

Hundreds of samurai and their commanders had dined in this hall, and some had even stood trial here. Fukashin Hitori himself, the founder of the town and overseer of the construction of the hall, had been a very prominent shogun, one of the most powerful in Japan.

But that was a long time ago. I had asked Tai to describe everything to me after this point, so he worded it along these lines.

Now the hall was packed full of people. A ring of tables encircled the edge of the hall, each with several donation boxes and platter upon platter of food.

At every table there was a different style of food, so that no one would go hungry or discontented. The actual dining tables were set up in the center of the hall, with a head table at the far end.

The mayor of the town sat at the head of the table, with several other people I didn't know sitting on his right side. On the left sat the mayor's wife, several more people I didn't know, and Ronnie sat at the far left edge.

We had only just taken our seats when a bell was rung, and everybody's attention went to the front of the hall.

"Konichiwa," the mayor greeted the hall, "I would like to thank everybody for coming and making a donation to the local STEA committee, without whose efforts we would not be having this joyous feast."

I noticed that he didn't mention Ronnie's name, though she had probably put the most of her time and effort into this evening. She just sat there, frozen smile on her face, probably trying not to cry.

I was interrupted from this thought as my eyes clicked. "Psst, Tai," I hissed under my breath as the mayor went on. He leaned over and I whispered, "cover me and if anything unexpected happens, get my sister out of here as fast as you can."

I didn't wait for him to reply before I ducked under the table and turned ghost. Just as the blue light faded I heard a loud crash, followed by many, many screams.

"These guys are ghosts. Can't they just phase through the wall instead of knocking it down?" I asked as I shot through the tabletop to face my feline foe.

Dagger in hand I taunted, "Hey Tarra, back for more!" He seemed bigger than he had before.

"NOT BEFORE YOU, WHELP," he countered, as something rammed into my back from behind.

I hit the ground, then pulled myself back to my feet.

"Well, this explains almost nothing..."

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Note: I just love putting up cliffhangers and messing with your minds like this. It's actually pretty fun if you've ever tried it. The next chapter adds a couple of new aspects to the plot, so stay tuned.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note:I don't own anything you've seen in DP. I wish I did, but I don't, that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Chapter 8 (Tantarra)

For a second I thought I was seeing doubles, although one was a complete negative to the other.

As Tarra shrank back to normal size the beast beside him grew, until their sizes matched exactly.

The other cat was snowy white with red stripes and eyes, with glowing green fangs that dripped venom. Also, the feline seemed to be fluctuating, as if it couldn't hold its form for more than a second.

"BROTHER," the feline spoke, this one obviously female, "WHEN SHALL WE FEAST UPON HIM?"

"SOON, TANNA, BUT FIRST WE MUST WORK OUR TERROR INTO HIS SOUL," Tarra replied.

He then turned to me and said ominously, "WE ARE TARRA AND TANNA, TWIN PREDATORS."

"WE HAVE LED YOU ON A LONG HUNT, ONLY FOR YOU TO FIND THAT NOW IT IS YOU WHO HAVE BECOME THE HUNTED."

"Why have you done this?" I hissed, backing up ever so slightly.

The two cats noticed my movement and started circling me.

"TO LURE YOU TO US," Tanna hissed.

Tarra cut in, "TO DRAW YOU OUT."

"Yeah, but, why go to so much trouble? I can scent you guys a ways off," I leered.

"WE PREFER THE MORE, ELABORATE PLANS, THANK YOU. IT FEELS MORE REWARDING ONCE WE'VE CAPTURED OUR PREY," Tarra explained.

"WE HAVE BEEN HUNTING YOU, YOUNG NINJA," Tanna cooed from behind my back, "WE HAVE COME TO DESTROY YOU."

"How did you keep coming back?" I asked, pointing an accusing finger at Tarra, "Even after I banished you into the Ghost Zone numerous times?"

"YOU SEE, WHELP," Tarra answered, "WE MUST BOTH BE PRESENT IN THE SAME REALM AT THE SAME TIME. THAT IS ONE OF OUR POWERS. AND THAT IS ALSO HOW WE LEFT THIS WORLD THE FIRST TIME."

"SO LONG AS YOU ONLY BANISHED ME, AND NOT MY SISTER," Tarra explained, "I COULD NOT LEAVE THIS WORLD. SHE ACTED AS MY TIE TO THIS MORTAL COIL."

"That much I can understand," I replied, "But why bother knocking down all the buildings and doing all that random damage?"

"THAT? OH, WE JUST FIND THAT FUN," Tarra grinned maliciously. He then chanced a swipe at my legs.

I leapt to evade it, and was just about to level him when four huge claws plowed their furrows across my back. I yelled, then spun and clove downwards. I felt a set of fangs puncture the skin on my arm just as my attack touched Tanna's muzzle.

I was twisted around and thrown backwards. I lay there a second, before leaping to my feet and taking to the air.

Flames erupted around their feet and they pursued.

I flew, weaving and flitting through the air like a shade, until I was surrounded by rafters.

I went invisible, and tried tracking my elusive foes.

They must have gone invisible as well, because I couldn't see them. I could hear them though.

"OH NINJA, WHERE ARE YOU LITTLE NINJA?" Tanna called.

Her brother finished, "YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE, BECAUSE WE CAN SMELL YOUR BLOOD!" I shot forward with all speed as a set of claws ripped clean through the rafter behind me.

I flew forward as fast as I could, phasing through everything in my path, then just as I approached the far wall, I dropped like a rock.

Just as my two foes descended upon me I struck, releasing the new power of my weapon upon them. There was a huge flash of light, then a loud snap as the central support for the hall collapsed.

A moment later the entire hall caved in. I stood there whilst it collapsed, phasing through anything that fell on me. After a few minutes the dust and debris settled, and all was quiet.

People were watching just on the edge of the hall, with police car upon police car barrelling up the hill.

Then they emerged from the wreckage, shaking the dust from their coats, then turned to face me. And they did not look happy.

A dry chuckle escaped Tarra's lips as he groaned, "YOU HAVE PROVEN A MIGHTY HUNT, WHELP, AND A MIGHTIER PREY."

"BUT THE CURTAIN IS ABOUT TO FALL AND THE TRAGEDY HAS YET TO BE PERFORMED," Tanna cut in with a growl.

Then they spoke as one, "NOW, YOU MUST FACE THE GREATEST OF HUNTERS, ONE WHOM HAS NEVER LOST ITS PREY."

Ever so slowly their outlines faded, until they seemed to merge into one. Their bodies melded together, their colours swirling into each other, until a shockwave of white energy erupted from them.

They were literally one! A huge, two-headed, grey, amethyst-striped and -eyed, green-clawed and -fanged tiger stood before me. It shifted slightly to one side, and I realized that it had eight legs.

"WE ARE TANTARRA, AND WE ARE YOUR DOOM," one voice, warped as though it was two speaking at once, said threateningly.

I shielded my face as they roared, their stagnant breath threatening to overwhelm my sense of smell while their roar itself blasted my ears into a deciballic nightmare.

All at once the roar stopped. I lowered my arms as TanTarra charged me with enormous speed. I dashed to one side as they flew by, twisted around, and came back again. This time I ran.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, dashing and leaping over the wreckage with enormous agility and speed. However, Tantarra wouldn't be eluded so easily.

Within moments it was upon me, its twin jaws slavering as its paws slammed into the ground with tremendous force. Once it got close enough it struck like a cobra.

I leapt into the air just as the left head snapped at where I had been a second before, landing nimbly on top of the right head. Just as the left head realized where I was I leapt into the air and sailed off like a kite.

As soon as I was high enough up I ripped out another blast of energy from my dagger. It was a direct hit.

I waited for a moment to see if Tantarra was defeated. I was greatly disappointed.

The creature leapt into the air as well, its paws ignited, and it pursued me as if unphased. I whipped through the air like a sparrow trying to throw off a hawk, turning, spiralling, rolling, and forming 3D geometric shapes in midair, which was actually kind of cool.

But Tantarra wasn't to be eluded so easily. Fast as I was it was faster, and always the beast seemed to get closer and closer to me.

Finally, my feet struck the ground, and I stopped. Tantarra circled over my head once, then turned and landed as well. I took both opportunities to blast the creature with my dagger, as little good as it did.

The creature was still unphased as it charged towards me. I phased into the ground, at which point Tantarra stopped and tried to pick out where I was.

Having positioned myself directly under Tantarra's body, I flew up and landed one huge dagger blast on Tantarra's belly. There was a huge rasp of pain as Tantarra's body was lifted off the ground and thrown into what was left of the hall's roof.

There was a huge gash across its stomach when it rose to continue the fight. To my horror, within a moment the wound had sealed itself, and Tantarra was charging towards me once more.

Focusing all the energy I could I raised my dagger high over my head, then brought it down with untold force. A huge blast of white energy exploded from the tip of the blade, extending until its power seethed from the entire weapon. The energy ripped through the ground with ease, to the extent that it actually had a "bow wave" of debris.

Tantarra, however, had other plans as to whether or not it would let this attack strike it. It planted its feet squarely, then just as my attack approached, their jaws snaked out, one head grasping my blast by its top half, the other by the bottom.

I zoomed towards them like a bullet, dagger brought back for a lethal stroke.

Just when I came within several feet of them their teeth punctured my attack. I was thrown back by the shockwave, and hit the ground a ways off. I was trying to get up when I was thrown back again by a huge paw.

I tried several times more, but each time I was struck down by a huge paw.

"YOU HAVE FOUGHT WELL, PREY," Tantarra mocked, "BUT NOW, YOUR SOUL IS MINE."

"Hey!" Tantarra paused as a voice rang out from the crowd, "I don't know you, and I don't know who that is, but I think it's time that I used this."

Before I could speak a long whip had coiled around Tantarra's right neck and was zapping the goo right out of it. I was dropped as Tantarra's other head tried to break the whip without success.

I rose to my feet as Tantarra dashed back and forth, trying as hard as it could to remove the lash around its neck. It was actually shrieking in pain.

"Let's put this beast down," I growled, as I energized my dagger for one last blast. Once again I could feel its energy and mine merging as I raised it over my head, waiting for just the right opportunity.

Tantarra was dashing towards me, still tearing at the thing that so urked it.

As my arms dropped the lash came loose, and Tantarra realized its mistake. The blast I'd used before was nothing compared to this. Tantarra's entire body was engulfed by it.

Once the light had dimmed enough and I could see, I noticed that Tarra and Tanna were lying there, fully seprate and unconscious.

As one of them tried to rise I silenced them with a wave of my hands, returning them both to the Ghost Zone.

I fell to my knees, out of pain and exhaustion.

My chest heaved as I sucked in huge lungfuls of air, and my arm and back throbbed with pain. After a moment I managed to raise myself to my feet. I looked out at the mob of people staring at me. For a second everything was silence. Then out of nowhere someone started clapping.

Slowly at first, but gaining momentum with every second. They were joined by a second and a third and a fourth, until the entire hill was a roar of clapping and cheering, everyone chanting, "Yurei! Yurei! Yurei!"

I raised a hand and waved to the throng, and was greeted by roars and screams of joy.

I slowly floated up into the air, then took off, becoming invisible as I left the crowd behind.

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"Tirrell! You'll never guess what happened at the STEA fundraiser," Mom called up the stairs.

"The hall was attacked by a ghost, which was in turn attacked by the famous Yurei Ninja, they fought, someone distracted the beast, and Yurei won?" I asked specifically.

"Um... yes," she said uneasily, "But you'll never guess who it was that helped Yurei bring down the ghost."

"Police?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Nope," she said bluntly.

"Professional ghost-hunter?" I asked, a bit more prudently.

"Not quite," she answered.

"You?" I asked, puzzled.

"Almost but not quite," she said animatedly.

I looked over her shoulder to Ronnie, whose attention now seemed to be riveted on an old magazine article.

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"Oh man I'm going to suck at this," I murmured to myself as I knocked on Ronnie's door.

"Come in," Ronnie called momentarily after I tapped lightly on her door.

I stepped inside, in my transformed state so that I could see half-decently, and my jaw dropped.

As quickly as Ronnie's room had filled with decorations, diagrams and posters, it was as clean and organized as it had ever been. Relatively speaking.

"Hey," Ronnie said softly, "I guess you know who helped you out tonight then?"

"Yeah, thanks," I answered, scratching the back of my head as I tried to voice my thoughts, "Sis, can I ask you something?"

"Fire away," she said indifferently, fingering through a copy of "The Tome of Kitaiyou."

"I probably wouldn't be here tonight if things had gone only a bit differently," I began, pacing across the floor, "Things got ugly over there pretty fast, and if it weren't for the fact that my wounds are replaced by exhaustion when I switch forms, Mom would be one kid less right now."

"Are these questions, Tir, or are you trying to make a point?" Ronnie asked, arching an eyebrow as she stopped flipping, scanned a page, then flipped back.

"I'm trying to make a point, but I'll admit that I'm not doing it very well, am I?" I asked. Before Ronnie could reply I continued, "Sherlock Holmes had Dr. Watson, Hercule Poirot had Hastings, and Batman has Robin. They all have someone there to help back them up if things get ugly."

"Ronnie, I'm starting to get a very good handle on my powers, it's true, but I can't fight all these ghosts by myself." Ronnie had long since turned away from her book. I'd definitely gotten her attention.

"So what are you saying Tir? That you need someone riding shotgun? A second banana? A sidekick?" she asked almost indignantly.

"Ronnie, I don't need a sidekick, now or ever. I need a partner. An equal. You are perhaps the only person I know that fits that description."

For the first time in her life, Ronnie seemed to be at a loss for words. The book dropped from her hands, and her jaw was hanging open slightly.

Finally she asked, "How would I be able to help? What can I fight with?"

"Way ahead of you," I said, withdrawing a magazine from my back pocket.

"Ghost: The Hunter's Guide and Order Form to all things Ectoplasmic?" she asked, amazed.

"I've checked through it, actually," I admitted, "This is the magazine mom keeps getting those anti-ghost devices from that she keeps giving us."

"It's got everything. Ghost-swords, suits, visors, etc. and it's all next to nothing in price. All I'd have to do is search through the sofa cushions and I'd be able to afford a whole set."

"So, are you in?" I asked. I didn't have a begging tone whatsoever. This decision rested in Ronnie's hands.

"The U-AGE Master's combat set is top of the line at only $899.99," she contemplated after a minute or so, "Recommended for any Ghost-hunter. Runs on a miniature nuclear fission reactor. Requires recharging about once every thirty years. Includes AEICM Visor, KMJPP Flight Pack, ECTOS-NET device, Fenton anti-ghost sword, Fenton portable ghost sniper, Fenton specter deflector, Fenton specter reflector, and an AGEET-based combat suit. Whole set easily contained in ghost-proof gravity-resistant wristband, so the extra weight of the equipment is virtually unnoticeable. Buy now and get a second AGEET-based combat-suit FREE! Second suit option not valid after Nov.8."

She sat there for the longest time, legs crossed over one another, digesting the magnitude of this decision.

"So, do we have a secret handshake or what?" she asked slyly, extending a hand as she said, "I'm in."

I gripped her hand like iron as I replied, "'Til doom do us part."

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Author's Note: Man, what a way to end a chapter, eh? For those of you wondering, I did plan those acronyms I used.

U-AGE stands for Ultimate Anti-Ghost Equipment.

AGEET stands for Anti-Ghost & Ectoplasmic Energy Thread- based combat suit (a suit that reduces the effects of ghost powers that come in contact with it).

ECTOSNET stands for Ectoplasmic Consciousness Targeted Operating System & Neutralizing Entanglement Tool (It targets ghosts and launches a series of missiles and nets at them, totally cancelling the ghost's powers; it can be adapted not to lock on to certain ghosts, or you can select a target yourself. It can lock on to several foes at once).

KMJPP stands for Kinesis Manuevered Jet Powered Propulsion flight pack (To put it bluntly, a flight system that reads thoughts and the slightest body movements and tensions of the wearer and adjusts according to that data. Equipped with a ghost-proof coating).

AEICM stands for Anti-Ectoplasmic Invisibility Combat Module (To put it simply, a visor that sees ghosts while they're invisible. Can be shut off by manual switch only).

The specter reflector reflects and absorbs ghost attacks while active, converting them into nuclear energy, and the ghost sniper is just a lighter version of the Fenton Bazooka.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: I do not, in any way, own DP. Wish I did, but I don't. This chapter gets interesting, and introduces a couple more layers to the plot, so read on! Also, try and imagine that the ghost in this chapter has the same voice as the cartoon Luthor from Superman, and he'll seem even cooler.

I figured I'd get ch.7&8 in on the same day to make up for the fact that this is the official "Halloween" special of my fanfic, and I didn't get it in on Halloween! NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews, and I apologize for not mentioning you in chapter 8:

the sleep warrior- I just put those little suspenseful moments there to drive you people up the wall. That and the hit count. You can never have too many hits. And stop bragging about the big spinny business chair. I have a spinny chair too you know. I'm spinning on it right now. WWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Ha! It's not a big fancy business chair but it gets the job done. Anyway, yes, I did update soon after chapter seven hit the net. I can't believe this doesn't have its own show either. I'd be known by many more people than I am now. And by the way, I think I did a good fight scene too.

By the way, sorry I couldn't get this in yesterday, and this will be the last update for about a week or so.

This chapter is pretty long, so for those of you who aren't complaining about a little extra reading, here you go!

Chapter 9 (Yurei, Shiro and Halloween Night)

"Okay, Tantarra," I taunted, "Now are we gonna make this easy, or real easy?" The response was instantaneous.

Tantarra charged at me, I ducked to the side. The trap was set.

"Now!" I roared at the top of my lungs. The sky was immediately filled with a wave of green missiles and nets. Tantarra stood no chance. Bundled up and returned to the Ghost Zone in five minutes flat. A new record on Team Yurei's part.

People had been surprised when the Yurei Ninja started appearing with a partner. They called her "Shiro Girl", or just Shiro, because her combat suit was white. To say the least we were becoming a town legend.

We even had t-shirts. T-SHIRTS, for the love of God! They wrote songs, books, animes, manga (which, by the way made me look very cool), and even a couple of movies on us from what little they knew. And if those were any indication, then they knew very little. Either way, we were a huge hit.

People would come from across the world just to see us. We dealt with the press too. We only answered a very few questions though, and just the very vague ones, nothing specific. As far as we knew, no one knew who we really were. As for classmates...

The girls thought Yurei was the hottest guy around, and they thought Shiro was the coolest. One of the female students in my art class drew and painted a wicked collage of us two, fighting various ghosts that had been seen on the news.

The guys, on the other hand, thought that Shiro Girl was gorgeous, and they both respected and envied Yurei.

They respected him because of his powers and reputation, and they envied him because at least eighty percent of the girls in the school, including a lot of the good-looking ones, thought Yurei was very, very attractive, both physically and according to the school foodchain.

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It was October 29th, and things were looking good already by second period. Midterms had been handed back to us, and I had passed with no less than a 75 among them, with an eighty-five average.

But what really made me happy were Tai's results. Relatively speaking he'd done better than me! He was beaming with pride when he learned that he'd gotten an even eighty-one as an average for his tests.

---------------------------------------------

"Morgan-san, I-" Tai was about to ask me, but I cut him off.

"Tai, please do me a favour," I said stoicly. He nodded and I continued, "Just call me Tir. You'll swell my head so much by calling me "Morgan-san" that I won't be able to get my hoodie on in the morning. Now, you were saying?"

"Mor- Tirrell, I would like to thank you for helping me with my studies over the past week. I could not have passed without your guidance."

"Hey, thanks Tai," I answered. "Is there something else on your mind? You seem a bit uneasy."

"For a blind man you see many things," Tai chuckled.

"I'm not blind, Tai. I just can't use my eyes. Now about that question?"

"Ah yes," he mused a bit awkwardly, "Are you-"

He was interrupted as a group of girls walked by. "Can we move somewhere we aren't going to be overheard?"

"Oh, sure," I replied, starting to wonder what he could ask me that required so much privacy.

He led me outside, just behind an old tree in front of the school. Then he sat me down under it.

"Tirrell, are you or are you not the Yurei Ninja?" the breath caught in my throat, and I momentarily choked on my own spittle.

After I gave myself a whack in the chest, I asked, "How did you figure it out?"

"Well, when you first told me to "cover" for you, I didn't know what you were talking about. But after you seemed to vanish and Yurei appeared seemingly out of nowhere, I put two and two together."

"So, when are the feds comin' for me?" I joked awkwardly.

"Tirrell, I have not, nor do I intend to reveal your secret identity to anyone," he assured me. I stared in his direction blankly, as if I could actually see him.

"Uh, can you hold that thought for a second?" Without waiting for a reply I ran for the cafeteria as fast as I could.

"HE WHAT!" Ronnie exclaimed after I'd given her the news. "Tir, we cannot let this get out. If it does, who knows what'll happen. We have to make sure that he doesn't tell anyone!"

"He's given me his word, Ronnie," I whispered after she'd calmed down a bit, "And as much as I can't believe I'm saying this, I think we can trust him."

I could feel Ronnie's eyes boring into me. It was not a good feeling.

"Fine, we'll let him go with it," she relented, "Though if it weren't for the fact that he's changed so drastically, I might try to find a way to mind-wipe him." Far-fetched as that sounds, I knew that Ronnie wasn't joking.

Last period. Friday. After a long, exhausting week. Just two days until Halloween and the school dance. Math. Need I say more about that living hell?

Either way, I was getting through it. We were just starting on the day's assignment when the door opened and Vice Principal Ishiya walked in.

"Please excuse me, Hashimi-san," she apologized to the teacher, "But I was wondering if you would mind a new student in your math class."

"Not at all. Bring him in," Mr.Hashimi said brightly.

"Actually, Hashimi-san, _she_ can bring herself in," a young feminine voice answered as she stepped into the room. If her voice and the sound of jaws dropping was any indication, then this girl was the perfect sight for sore eyes.

"Very well then, Miss Kara Nami," Mr.Hashimi said a bit shamefacedly, reading her name off a slip of paper no doubt, "Would you please sit beside Morgan-san back there?"

I heard light footsteps approach me, then someone sat down lightly to my right.

I extended a hand in her direction and said, "Welcome to Ayamatzu High, truly one of the most low-budget and boring places to attend school."

I heard a giggle as my own hand was shaken in turn by a smooth, warm palm as Kara replied, "You are the class clown, then?"

Tai, who sat right in front of me, turned in his seat and quipped, "Nah, that's my job. He's my ventriloquist dummy."

"Ah, so we have Beavis and Butthead in the same class?" she countered, starting to giggle again.

Tai didn't answer, so I explained, "TV show back home about two idiots."

"Oh," Tai then chuckled a bit to himself. Class passed by pretty quickly after that. We talked quietly to each other while we worked. I learned that Kara had actually moved to Japan from Amity Park, though she had gone to a different preschool than me so we'd never met.

Like myself, she enjoyed karate, and if her tales proved true, then she would be testing for her black belt around the same time as me. She was an interesting girl. And she respected me, something most people only did with marginal generousity.

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"So you almost botched an entire math class making friends with the new girl?" Ronnie was asking me as we headed home. All things considered, she didn't have any homework, and neither did I, so we were both in high spirits.

"Exactly. She's smart, she's funny, she participates in karate-"

"And you're thinking of asking her to the Halloween dance," Ronnie cut in.

"And I'm thinking of ask- What!" I almost roared, "Ronnie I only just met the girl! Right now she's a new friend, and for the moment I like it that way."

"Whatever you say, lover boy," she taunted in her googly voice. No matter what else that girl does, the one thing she does that I cannot stand is the googly voice.

"Don't call me "lover b-" yes, you guessed it, my eyes sparked.

"Mission time, lover boy?" Ronnie prodded. I glared in her direction, then took cover behind a building and went ghost. She followed and in a second Team Yurei was in full operation.

"That way," I indicated off towards the older part of town. Within moments we were just outside an ancient Japanese mansion. The place seemed sturdy enough, but it still looked very old.

"Ready?" I asked. Ronnie nodded, and just as my foot came in contact with the door, I felt it. An enormous shockwave of pure ghost energy rippled out from the house.

It threw me a ways back, and when I got up, I realized that Ronnie hadn't been shifted so much as an inch.

"Okay, let's try that again," I murmured, drawing my dagger this time. I flew at the door as fast as I could. When the blade came in contact with the door, It almost seemed to bend the light around the door. I was then thrown back a second time.

"I hate ghost barriers, don't you?" I seethed as I got back to my feet again.

"Let me try Tir," Ronnie suggested. Before I could answer she barked, "Railguns fire!" The guns at her hips swiveled up, fired twin ghost-rays, and swiveled back into their places in about one second. There was a small explosion, then the door, now barely on its hinges, opened.

"After you," she offered. I stayed out on the front steps of the house for a moment longer, then entered. The place was dark and secluded. Cobwebs hung from every corner and rafter.

The floor creaked on my entering, and I heard a tiny squeak echo from up the rickety old stairs. Doors, long since rotted and torn away, left open gaps in the walls.

I took hold of Ronnie's shoulder, and we disappeared from natural sight. I phased us through the ceiling, and we searched the upstairs. We found nothing aside from a few old books.

All but one, "The Tome of Kitaiyou," fell to dust as soon as we touched them. The tome seemed a bit newer than the others, so that made sense.

"There's nothing up here," I whispered as my eyes sparked again, "But my eyes are still zapping in my sockets. If there is anything here, It's downstairs."

Ronnie nodded her assent, and I phased us back down to the main floor.

I tried to ghost us down into the basement, but once again we were met with a ghost barrier.

Ronnie tried her railguns again, but they weren't powerful enough.

"Great, just great," I groaned, "looks like we'll be stuck here forever, unable to find one stinking ghost."

"Not true, little brother," Ronnie answered, flipping a button on her visor. "I can set my visor to find the base point energy source of this barrier, then blast it with my ectos-net. Sound like a plan?"

"Good thing I asked you to join the team," I answered, "Let's get to it."

Very slowly she revolved arount the room, searching for the chink in the barrier's armor. "What kind of ghost, I wonder, could maintain a barrier this powerful? Why would it need to go to such great effort to keep everybody out?" I asked.

"Maybe it doesn't want everybody out, Tir," Ronnie answered, even though I hadn't actually asked her, "Found it. Ectos-net fire!"

There was a barrage of missiles and nets, and the barrier, as well as the floor, gave way.

"Well, that oughta get the attention of anyone within twenty miles," I remarked, "Now what do we have here?"

We descended into the pit. I held up my dagger, invoking its glowing energy, and shed some light on the place. Unused lampstands stood all over the place, along with a long line of pillars, marked with symbols and scrawls of various sorts.

We walked in between these pillars, staring in awe of what we saw before us. The place seemed even more ancient than the building above us.

Finally, at the end of the tunnel, two huge double doors, round in shape, stood bolted shut, and they too were covered in scrawl.

"I'm detecting serious ghost energies behind these doors," Ronnie observed, "and these seals appear to be holding back those energies. If those seals are removed, I don't know what will happen."

To our horror, one of the seals glowed blue, sparked, then burned up. Then another. Then another and another, until they were all gone.

"All weapon systems auto target next ghost signal. Fire on command." My dagger was in hand, ready to be used at any moment. Then, the warmth started draining from the room.

A huge tremor of fear spasmed down my spine, and something slammed against the other side of the doors. To our horror, it struck again, and again. I floated ever so slightly into the air, then drew back my dagger for the lethal strike. Finally, the door burst. And all hell broke loose.

First, Ronnie's railguns and ectosnet went off. Missiles and nets arced through the air, as did the high-powered energy beams from her railguns. Next her sniper fired a Zone beam, a beam of pure ectoplasm that acts as a temporary Ghost Portal. Finally, when the smoke and dust cleared, there appeared to be nothing there. Nothing save a permanent Ghost Portal.

"Uh, sis, we've gotta shut this thing down," I murmured. She nodded, and as I used an energy blast from my dagger, her railguns fired. The two blasts seemed to intertwine, and when they finally came in contact with the portal, it was no small shockwave that hit us.

When a second wave of dust and ectoplasm died down, the portal was gone.

"Well, that's a relief," I sighed as we turned to go.

"INSOLENT FOOLS! YOU HAVE DESTROYED THE WAY TO MY LAIR! NOW YOU SHALL PAY FOR IT WITH YOUR AFTERLIVES!"

There, standing in front of us, was an enormous ghost. Its eyes glowed red, and it bore the appearance of a half-dead samurai. Its armor was grey, its face black, and on one hip it bore an enormous katana in a blood-red sheath. "I AM KITAIYOU, THE ARCHSPIRIT OF FEAR. YOU HAVE RELEASED ME FROM MY PRISON. NOW YOU, AND ALL THE WORLD, SHALL PAY!"

"Can I ask what you're doing here? What, you couldn't get the Fright Knight to show?"

"NAH, HE'S BOOKED UP IN SOME TOWN IN NORTH AMERICA. I'M JUST FILLING IN."

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"NO."

"Ah. I had a feeling you'd say that."

"AS I WAS SAYING," Kitaiyou hissed, "I AM GOING TO DESTROY YOUR WORLD, AND WARP IT UNTO MY WILL."

"Not on my time, pal," I barked as I charged forward. In a split second Kitaiyou drew his sword, caught my dagger under the hilt and disarmed me, all in one movement.

I tried to throw a punch but he kneed me in the gut, and I collapsed to my knees.

Just as he was about to finish me I heard something go off, and a second later Ronnie's whole arsenal caught him in the chest, ECTOS-NET and all. A grey form shot out of the smoke and Kitaiyou, almost totally unaffected by Ronnie's efforts, brought his sword down hard on Ronnie.

Just as it seemed I was an only child there was a loud clang, and Kitaiyou, no matter how hard he pushed, couldn't force Ronnie's anti-ghost sword wielding hands down any further.

With a roar Ronnie heaved herself to one side and twisted her sword in the opposite direction.

Kitaiyou's blade struck the ground with a loud clang. Kitaiyou never saw her roundhouse kick coming. It caught him square in the head and threw him to one side.

"Now!" She yelled.

"Kassil!" I barked, and just as my spell struck its mark I felt as though I'd been hit with a bus.

"FOOLISH CHILD," Kitaiyou bellowed, "DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT I COULD BE SO EASILY SNARED BY SUCH A WEAK POWER AS YOURS? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN FOUND YOUR MEDIUM YET, AND YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME? HA! I'LL BE AROUND." Before we could stop him, Kitaiyou was gone.

"That is the first ghost we haven't been able to capture as a team," Ronnie said as she helped me up, "You okay? You seem a little spacy."

"Me? Oh, it's nothing," I lied through my teeth, "By the way, can I look through some of those ghost books of yours? There's something I need to check on."

"Medium: an ancient form of energy that involves the channeling of a ghost's energies." Oh well that explains why I haven't found one," I said sarcastically to myself as I sulked in my room, "Now how am I supposed to defeat Kitaiyou?"

I heard a knock on my door. "Come in," I called. I knew it was Ronnie coming through the door because her knock, "dum do do do do doo doo doo," is more complex than mom's simple three-knock warning.

"I found something you might want to see here," she indicated to the book we'd found in Kitaiyou's mansion. Before I could answer she plopped down on my bed beside me and flipped to a page marked, "Tales of Kitaiyou." Just on the opposite side of the title, there was a piece of Japanese script. Translated, it goes something like this:

If Kitaiyou is freed

And his powers reformed

Then the world shall need

A goodness unborn.

Between medium and darkness,

The end shall draw near,

But who then can see

When the future is here?

"Over six hundred years ago, during the feudal age of Japan, there arose a famous shogun, Fukashin Hitori. He held a very great influence over Japan, especially Hokkaido and northern Honshu. But he himself was not the main reason for his great influence."

"His king daggers, or tanken-kai, were several hundred of his greatest, most skilled samurai, and of these, Kinto Taiki, nicknamed Kitaiyou by his swordbrothers, was the foremost."

"He was among the most skilled and powerful of samurai, said to fight with the spirit of jissen (or fire) and the power of a mountain. There were very few who could withstand the ferocity of his sword, the Taisencha, which was said to have been forged in the fires of Mount Fuji.

"After they had cleansed the land of most, if not all raiders and marauders, the lands that Hitori held enjoyed some degree of peace. Naturally, Kitaiyou and his fellows did not enjoy this peace.

"Eventually, they caused an uprising, and tried to overthrow Hitori and rule his land themselves."

"They were among the most skilled and spirited of samurai, but they were still heavily outnumbered and eventually thwarted just outside the gates of Hitori's castle."

"Kitaiyou, having led the uprising, was put under death and banishment, whilst his men were merely forced to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide. Their bodies were cremated, then buried under the house we visited earlier today."

"Great, just great," I murmured, "Now we've got a six hundred year old samurai, perhaps one of the greatest samurai ever born, on the loose."

"Oh, don't get down on yourself Tir," she soothed as she got up to leave, "I couldn't do anything to him either. He's just too powerful."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" I asked, eyeingly my sister sarcastically.

"We'll get him, Tir," she said as she left. That thought in my head, I decided to turn in for the night.

The next day I found out that Kara was in more than just my math class. In Science, Japanese Language arts, and phys ed. I also enjoyed her presence. I also learned that she was very quick on her toes.

There was a light whoosh as a ball flew past my head. Of all the actual games we play as warmups, I will never like another more than dodgeball.

Tai was on the opposite team, throwing balls with pinpoint accuracy. Every time someone raised a hand against him, they were twarted immediately with a spongeball to the torso, arm, leg or otherwise, all save the head.

The gym had gone quiet. He was the only one standing. And so was I.

A ball came at my stomach, and I dodged to one side. Another shot towards my leg. Instantly my whole leg whipped up and out of the way, evading the blow by a hairsbreadth.

"Hey Fenbutsu-san, you're gonna have to do better than that!" I taunted.

"If I did any better than that, Morgan-san," he called back, whipping two balls at once, one at my torso and the other at my legs, "You'd be on the ground."

"Oh please!" I yelled as I jumped into the air to evade the ball to my legs.

Just as the second ball closed on me I flipped backwards and down, actually kicking the ball high into the air. I heard it slam against the higher end of the wall, then the roof.

I did a quick mental calculation, then rushed forward. I did two consecutive front flips, then I leapt into the air over Tai's head. As I knew it would happen, the ball I had kicked a second before landed perfectly in my hand.

I brought my arm over my head, but just as I was going to release it, I heard a blunt "slap" as another ball struck Tai. He was already sitting by the time I landed. A moment's silence, then we actually got applause.

"Nice distraction Tir," Kara called out as she approached me.

"Glad to help, even if I'm the drumstick in the trap," I said jovially.

She giggled at this, then asked, "Hey Tir, you know the Halloween dance is tomorrow, right?"

"Uh, yeah, why do you ask?" I inquired, expecting the answer she gave me.

"Well, since I'm new here, it would probably be pretty hard for me to get a date, so could you come?"

I think my face must have paled slightly, because she added quickly, "Just as friends though, okay?"

"Uh, okay," I answered, "When can I pick you up?"

"Quarter to seven good?" she asked.

"Actually, when I asked if I could pick you up, I'd forgotten that I'd never even been to your house before. Could I walk you home this afternoon to get an idea of where you live?"

"Oh, sure," she replied, "I'd be happy to."

"Great!" I yelled, jumping up and throwing my fists into the air. I then realized what I was doing and said, "Uh, I mean, okay. See ya!"

"So karate is cancelled tomorrow night then?" Kara asked as we jogged to her house. Something I realized I could do, not long after Kitaiyou had eluded our grasp, was that I could I could actually invoke the sight I had in ghost-mode while in human form.

There was one drawback though. While doing this, I couldn't see anything that was living, so I could see Kara's clothes, but not Kara herself. That and everything had more of a greyish tinge to it than I remembered.

"Yup. Sensei Yamato doesn't like the idea, but since everyone's going to be busy, he gave in. I don't think he'll even need a costume to be scary tonight."

She laughed, then said, "Here's my street. The numbers are a little blurred, but you should be able to pick them out."

It was at that point that I realized that I hadn't told her I was blind. While mentally slapping myself I memorized the street corner and resumed following her.

Her house was the fifth one from the corner, and it was almost identical to mine.

"See ya tomorrow," she said as she walked up to the porch. Just as I was walking home, my eyes went off. "Aw, man," I whined as I ran behind a dumpster and transformed.

Following experience I flew for the nearest intersection. My hunch was correct. Kitaiyou was there.

Using the two-way radio I had in my ear I contacted its twin, which was in Ronnie's ear.

"Yurei to Shiro, we've got a code 47 at intersection 3, do you copy? over."

"Shiro to Yurei, I copy. I'll be over in a few minutes. Hold him down until I get there. over."

"Roger that," I finished. Drawing my weapon of war, I descended on my armored foe.

What looked like smoke was emerging from every person in range, and it was being absorbed into Kitaiyou's hands.

"GIVE ME YOUR FEAR, HUMANS. FOR IN THAT FEAR LIES MY OMNIPOTENCE!" I struck like a cobra.

Three vicious kicks to Kitaiyou's head, and one dagger-blast sent him reeling. I leapt into the air, and roared as I brought my blade down for the lethal stroke. There was a huge clang as Kitaiyou's sword met my dagger. He was ticked, no doubt.

"FOOLISH CHILD! I'LL CARVE YOU UP AND SPIT YOU BEFORE I'M DONE WITH THIS PLANET!"

"Now see, that might be harder than you'd think," I grinned.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHELP?" Kitaiyou asked harshly.

I pointed behind him, just in time for him to see the huge semi slam into him. I simply went intangible and it passed right through me.

I flew over to the wreckage in an attempt to locate and then banish Kitaiyou, but he was already gone. Cursing under my breath, I removed the semi-driver from the semi and flew off.

"So, lover boy has a date for the dance tomorrow," Ronnie taunted me the minute I stepped in the front door.

"At least I have a date," I countered effectively. Ronnie growled momentarily, then led me up to her room.

"So, refresh my memory sis, but you're coming to the dance, with or without a date?" I asked.

"Exactly," she answered bluntly, "I need to keep an eye on you two, you know."

"Oh please. We're just friends, and I'm just showing her the ropes, that's it," I explained.

"Just don't start showing her the wrong ropes, wildcat," she taunted. I stormed out of the room without another word.

"So Tir," Kara asked as I was at my locker the afternoon before the dance, "What are you going as for the dance? Costumes get in at half price."

"I'll just leave everybody guessing on my guise at the last minute, then I'll scare the pants off them with my costume's great accuracy and significance. How about you?"

"Let's just say you're brain will freeze up at the mere sight of me," she replied as she walked off down the hall.

"You, Tirrell C. Morgan, are a worm," I whispered to myself, "A gutless, slimy, courageless little worm."

I was totally ready for the Halloween dance. In a manner of speaking I'd decided to go as myself, dawning my white raiment.

I hid my dagger inside my one wrist, so that it wouldn't easily be discovered. At the moment I was standing on Kara's doorstep, still trying to summon up the courage to knock.

I took a few deep, cleansing breaths and told myself, "She's just a friend, and you're just going to the dance as friends. This is not a date, and she is not your girlfriend."

Just as I was finally ready to knock the door opened for me, and my heart stopped beating in my chest.

Her now blue and white-streaked hair had been cut until it was just down to her shoulders, then combed and gelled into perfect curves that extended back from her face.

Blue bat earrings hung from each ear, and her skin was pale, with one tiny mole drawn on the left side of her mouth. Curved fangs and bright red lips made her look especially vampiric, as did her cool blue eyes.

A sapphire necklace hung around her neck, adorned with patterns of twisted gold. Long silken gloves extended from just below her shoulders down to the ends of her delicate fingertips. A long, dark blue dress with a slit down each thigh, as well as the ankle bracelets and blue heels she was wearing really added to the mystique.

"So ninja-boy, how do I look?" she asked, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.

"Like a vampiric princess, ready for the night," I replied. "Does this vampire mind her escort being a Ghost Ninja?"

"Not at all, now let's head for that party," She exclaimed, grabbing me by the wrist and sprinting for the school, almost dragging me in her wake.

"So Yurei," Tai, doing a fairly good job of being a zombie samurai, asked, "Had your ecto-goo sucked yet?"

"Nah, I think she's saving me for her main course," I answered, slapping Tai a high-five, "I like the broken crest and half-skeleton face, by the way. Nice touch."

"You are too kind. Naturally, Your costume is the greater of the two," he conceded.

"Oh, well thanks, though you're not looking too bad yourself," I complimented him, "So, shall we hit the buffet?"

A fair few heads turned as we entered the gym. I removed my mask and shouted, "Relax people, it's just me." Most nodded and then resumed whatever it was that they had been doing. Others, however, kept staring inconsiderately at Kara.

"So Kara, want some punch?" I asked over the music as we headed to the buffet table.

"Thanks," she said.

"Orange, kiwi, grape, apple or strawberry?" I asked again as I looked at the large variety of drinks.

"Strawberry please," she replied as I poured her a cup.

"I'll just have the same, and- ooooohhh! I didn't know they had nachos and kettle chips!" I exclaimed as I rushed off towards the other end of the table.

"No one's even touched the jalapeno and cheddar chips, or the cayenne and parmesan nachos. And how on earth could they refuse pure, one hundred-percent habanero salsa?" I asked as I scooped up a combination of all three and savoured the intense heat in my mouth.

In my opinion, if it doesn't give you the feeling that there's a party in your mouth and everybody's trigger happy with flamethrowers, it just ain't spicy.

"So wildcat, how's the date going?" Ronnie taunted as I turned around, dressed as Shiro Girl, "And are you eating three of the spiciest substances on earth right now?"

"I know, and nobody had even touched them yet," I replied gratefully, "Chose to dress as yourself too, eh?"

"The only thing I could find, buddy boy," she replied, "Just don't press your date there too hard."

"Why do you say that?" I inquired.

"Because she's standing right behind you," Ronnie grinned as I whipped around and was confronted with the smiling face of Kara.

"A double team?" I asked indignantly, "Oh come on, that is so not fair."

Both girls grinned diabolically as Kara dragged me off in the direction of the dance floor.

I tell ya, that girl can dance! Leaping, flipping, spinning, ducking, dodging, weaving, she was by far the fastest and most impressive thing on the floor. Then she came at me.

I wasn't sure whether she was dancing or sparring with me, but she was doing it well. We kicked and struck at each other, until she deflected my simultaneous kick/punch combination and placed a hand on my shouder, indicating we should stop. I was relieved, because I was out of breath, while she breathed lightly, having enjoyed herself greatly.

"Nicely done," I complimented her.

"You were pretty quick yourself, Ninja boy," she grinned slyly.

"Well thanks I-" a huge jolt shot across my eyes, and a split second later, a giant beast of black flames burst through the gym wall. I didn't have to look for a second to know that it was Kitaiyou.

While everyone was distracted by this beast, I returned my mask to its place and flew at the monster for all I was worth. My dagger shot from my wrist, into my palm, and I released three huge dagger blasts in quick succession.

Kitaiyou was knocked back several paces, out onto the front lawn of the school. I followed immediately.

His armor was a bright red now, not quite the blood red of his Taisencha, but it was still very noticeable.

"FOOLISH CHILD!" his huge, warped voice grated, "MY TAISENCHA WILL DESTROY YOU!"

His huge sword whipped out of its sheath and came down with savage speed. I flew to one side as a huge blast of red energy exploded from his sword, blowing a huge crater in the earth where I had been a few seconds previous.

I took the opportunity to sprint up his arm as fast as I could. As I reached his shoulder I leapt, aiming a blast of energy for his head. His left arm whipped up and out, trying to catch me. I just phased through it and fired.

There was an awesome explosion as my attack collided with his face, and he was knocked backwards. A huge roar rippled across the front of the school. Both Kitaiyou and myself stared as the entire school, teachers included, cheered my name.

"AH, MY FOOD WANDERS SO WILLINGLY INTO MY GRASP," Kitaiyou said pleased with this turn of events, "FEAR ME, REALM OF THE LIVING!"

He extended his hand, and again dark wisps of smoke came from everyone there. To my horror, Kitaiyou grew larger, and his armor darker, until it matched his sheath perfectly.

"AH, THAT WILL DO IT," he groaned contentedly, "NOW I MUST BRING FORTH MY TRUE POWER, AND THIS WORLD WILL BE MINE!"

He cloaked himself, and was gone.

"Kk, Yurei to Shiro, Yurei to Shiro, do you copy, kk, over?"

"Kkk, Shiro to Yurei, Shiro to Yurei, kk, I read you loud and clear, kk, over."

"Kk, good. I've got a code 47 over here, kk, waiting for serious backup, kk, over."

"Kk, I'll be there in a minute, kk, just give me some air, kk, over."

"Kk, roger that. Over and out."

A minute later we were both flying at breakneck speed for the ancient building where we'd first encountered Kitaiyou.

"What's the plan?" Ronnie asked as we landed outside the old mansion.

"I fly in for the distraction, you scan for weakpoints, then hit him with everything you've got."

"That's not a plan!"

"Too late, let's go!" I hissed as we headed for the open door.

"Mind if I cut in?" I asked as I descended to basement level in order to confront my ample adversary, then the breath caught in my chest.

The number of pillars in the room had considerably lessened, and as Kitaiyou's enormous claws released two more, they glowed blue for a second, then vanished.

"FOOLISH CHILD! I WAS GOING TO HUNT YOU DOWN MYSELF, BUT YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE MEAL INTO MY WAITING MOUTH."

"We'll see about that," I barked as I leapt into the air and swung a ferocious blow to Kitaiyou's shoulder.

"IT IS FOOLISH TO TRY AND STOP ME, CHILD. AN UNDERDEVELOPED WHELP HAS NO CHANCE AGAINST A SAMURAI OF MY POWER."

He was unphased by my blow. I tried again and again, but each time he just ignored my blows and continued dissolving his pillars.

"I CANNOT BE STOPPED CHILD. YET YOU PERSIST, EVEN IF IT BRINGS ABOUT YOUR DESTRUCTION ALL THE SOONER. WHY IS THAT?"

"Because my purpose in this world is to stop slimeballs like you. That's why!" I roared as I struck again, applying even more force to my blows. Kitaiyou seemed to have had enough with me, and grasped me like a tiny creature in his iron grip.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE, WRETCH," he growled as he threw me to the ground. A huge crater marked where I fell.

I got back to my feet, trying to keep myself from collapsing with exhaustion.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY WARRIORS I HAD AT MY BACK SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO, WHELP?"

"Five hundred," I answered angrily, "What does it matter anyway, they're all-" It hit me like a tidalwave.

"You came back to gain the power of their spirits! Each of these pillars marks the burial place of one of them, so all you have to do is absorb each pillar in order to-"

"RULE SUPREME OVER THIS PLANET. VERY GOOD, WHELP, I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU'D FINALLY FIGURE IT OUT." Looking around I realized that there was perhaps three pillars left.

I could feel the enormous power pulsing in waves from Kitaiyou's enormous form.

"I won't let you do this!" I roared, the fight returning to me, "I will stop you if it kills me, Kitaiyou."

I released a harsh cry as I raised my arms and released an enormous blast of energy.

"FOOLISH CHILD," Kitaiyou murmured to himself as he held up a hand to stop my attack. His grim onfidence was instantly replaced with a roar of pain as, to our great surprise, my attack blew his hand to pieces.

A split second later, energy beams, ghost rays and missiles rained down on the severed appendage like rain. Kitaiyou roared and howled with pain as his other arm fired an energy blast that knocked the wind out of me and Ronnie out of consciousness.

Kitaiyou absorbed the final pillar just as I caught my breath back.

"NOW, CHILD, YOU SHALL FACE THE UNFATHOMABLE WRATH OF MY HORDE."

Kitaiyou grew dark, as shadows flickered and separated from him, forming upon the ground before me. Within moments, Kitaiyou was normal sized once more, and I was surrounded by five hundred dead, angry-looking samurai.

"FEAST ON HIS FEAR, MY BROTHERS! SHOW HIM THE WRATH OF THE TANKEN-KAI!" My dagger proved invaluabe against this new threat. Thrusting, kicking, parrying, punching, slashing, blocking and giving a good account of myself all around, many of them fell into ruin under the withering wrath of my blade and body. As I grew tired, my attacks grew more vicious.

I was a blur of pure energy as my towering rage surfaced in the form of my seering energy blades. As I vaporized the last of them, Kiatiyou came at me fiercely.

My numbed hands were shocked so badly by his blow that they nearly dropped my dagger. His knee dug viciously into my stomach as his fist slammed into my jaw, propelling me backwards.

"YOU ARE NOT EVEN WORTH THE EFFORT TO ME ANYMORE, WHELP. PERHAPS I SHOULD JUST FINISH YOU NOW AND BE DONE WITH IT."

"I am not finished," I growled, "No matter what you may think or do."

"NOT FINISHED? MY BOY YOU ARE DEFENSELESS, BEATEN AND PIG-HEADED. YOU CANNOT HOPE TO BE ANYTHING ELSE."

"I don't care," I rasped, "It will take much more than you to finish me."

"YOU ARE ALONE, WHELP. AND ONE ALONE CANNOT EVEN HOPE TO STAND AGAINST ME."

_He's right_, I murmured to myself, _You are alone_.

_You are not alone, my son_, a strange, yet familiar voice said faintly, _I am, and will always be with you_.

I felt something pulsing in my hands, and they were gripping the handle of my dagger, now sheathed, like iron.

"ALL TOO EASY," Kitaiyou chuckled as his blade came crashing down on me. Suddenly, time seemed to slow down.

Kitaiyou's blade fell, ready to spill its first blood in six hundred years. My right arm, the one wielding my blade, drew my weapon from its sheath. A loud clang sounded throughout the chamber, clashing and slamming off the walls over and over, singing our wrathful battesong.

As the dust and sparks from our attacks cleared, I beheld a great white blade, longer than the arm that held it. I stared up at Kitaiyou, his jaw slack.

He stepped back a pace as I rose to my feet, blade still extended in a block.

Ever so slowly a malicious grin spread across my face as I grated, "Ready for Round Two?"

He turned and ran. Ran as fast as his ghostly-legs would carry him.

I lowered my sword to my left side, then swept it out in a sideways arc, unleashing a blast of pure energy unlike anything I'd every seen before.

As the attack closed on its target, I chanted, imbuing my wrath with its greatest power.

"If Kitaiyou is freed,

And his powers reformed,

Then the world shall need

A goodness unborn."

"Between medium and darkness

The end shall draw near,

But who then can see

When the future is HERE!"

I roared the last word to my sealing spell, just as it closed on my prey.

Long after the dust had cleared and I realized that Kitaiyou was gone, Ronnie clapped me on the shoulder and said those three wonderful words, "Let's go home."

What a nice way to end my Halloween special. Tir gets a new ghost power, one of the greatest ghosts in existence is back under seal, and I almost get this on the web on Halloween. Yes! Yes! Hahahaha!


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: I don't own DP. Or my own show. NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!

Sorry about this being a while after my last update, and you might want to expect the same for chapters to come.

In my reference to the different katas in Shotokan karate, those mentioned are actual katas, and most of which that a brown belt knows.

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

the sleep warrior- It's alright. I just like the spinny chairs. And let's not get into the tortilla & peppers thing, because I LOVE those things!

captain deoxys- If Tir had both a wishing and a techno. ghost for enemies, then don't you think I'd be ripping off the show just a tad too closely? But I had already planned on using one of the two in the next chapter anyway, so it may help satiate that hunger for DP of yours.

nooneluvsme- If it makes you feel an better, there have definitely been some things I've written that just plain sucked, so don't feel too bad. If you need help with anything fic. related, I'd be happy to help.

The beginning of the end of this fanfic starts here. I ought to be pretty close to done within the next ten chapters or so. And then there's the sequel. Heeheeheehee! On with the show!

Chapter 10 (Hell Hounds)

"Okay, Eunagi, are we gonna do this easy or real easy?" I asked as the ghost rose up from his dumpster.

"Be silent!" Eunagi yelled back, "And feel the wrath of my eels!"

"Sis, would you be so kind?" I asked, bowing and giving her the floor.

"Why thank you, Tir. Railguns Fire!" she shouted. A split second later Eunagi was knocked back into his dumpster. With lightning speed she leapt onto the rim of the dumpster and fired her Ghost Sniper.

Eunagi was gone within a minute. "So, how was that, oh master?"

she asked mockingly, bowing and clapping her palms together.

"Good, but you really need to play with him more," I critiqued.

"Play with him?" she asked.

"You know, batter him around for a while, knock him into walls, kick him into the ground, etc. You get the idea. It's really very theraputic."

"Fine. I'll "play" with him next time," she huffed, "Anything else in the area?"

"Uh, no, we're all clear," I answered after a moment's hesitation.

"Good. Now let's get to school!" she exclaimed as we left the alley in our human guises.

"Hey, Tai," I called down the hall.

"Greetings, Tir. I presume your ghost-hunting for the morning went well?" he asked as I opened my locker.

"Another regular," I groaned. "These guys just keep comin' back for more."

"Who keeps comin' back for more?" we both whipped around to see Kara, staring at us innocently.

"Uh, some of the guys in my karate class. I keep beating them, and they just keep comin back."

"Oh," she replied, "I was just wondering who you were talking about."

"Whew, we've got to watch ourselves, or she's going or find out," I said as she departed.

"Well, at least you told her part of the truth," Tai answered. He was right. Ever since I'd been struck blind, almost no one in my dojo could thwart me. Even Gichin Tankoshi, one of Sensei Yamata's best students, could just barely stay level with me.

"Oh, that reminds me," I exclaimed, "Our black belt testing is coming up in a few days. You wanna come over to my house so we can brush up?"

"Only if I get to come along," someone said almost irritatingly as two arms wrapped around my throat. I gagged as Kara's ploy inadvertantly brought me to the ground. I lay there for a second, massaging my throat, as she apologized.

I waved the matter aside, then asked "You want to practice with us?"

"Sure. Don't forget I've got my black belt testing coming up too," she reminded us both.

"Oh, right," I said a bit shamefacedly, having forgotten almost entirely about it, "Well, if you want to, come on over to my place after school for the next couple of days. Testing's on the fourth."

"Thanks," she paused for a moment, I presume she was staring at her watch, because she exclaimed, "It's almost time for class. You guys had better hurry. And what smells like dead eel?" She walked off at that parting phrase.

"Tai?" I asked, knowing he was still standing beside me.

"Yes Tir?" he asked as I heard the door to his locker close.

"Do I really smell like eel?"

"And here we are," I said as I made a great flourishing bow, indicating my house, "Behold the glory that is my home."

"It's a lot bigger than my house," Kara said as she stepped up onto the porch and knocked.

"Hi, sweetie!" mom greeted me, "And is this that little friend of yours that you took to the dance?"

"Mom!" I whined, "Did Ronnie prep you on this?"

"Lucky guess. Come on in," she said as she moved to one side, letting us pass through the doorway.

"I'll call you kids when it's time for supper," she called as we headed for the basement. "Okay, mom," I called back. Turning to my two friends I asked, "So, you two brought your gear?"

They both replied "yes." I then said, "The bathroom's over there, Kara." She nodded, then headed for the bathroom. Tai and myself, both being guys, changed out in the open, and were ready for Kara when she emerged. Sort of.

If what Tai described to me even remotely captured what he saw, then she was a sight to behold. I even sensed the difference as she entered the room. A strange calm, a sort of focused anger, if you will. Fierce determination dominated the atmosphere.

"Tai my man," I whispered, "This girl may be a slight bit more than we bargained for."

"Now for Empi," I suggested, us having run through the requirements for basics, and were presently working on our kata. Of all the katas in Shotokan karate, Bassai-dai, Jion, Tekki-nidan, Untsu, and so on, I like none better than Empi.

Aptly named, it means "Flying Swallow," and is obviously better suited to those with a lighter build. Every movement, from knife-hand back stance to double-techo (pronounced tae-sho), every movement was as near flawless as I could get it. Then came my favorite movement of the kata.

If I'd had an opponent, I would have been grabbing him by his neck and thigh and, actually leaping into the air, I would have thrown him behind me, then landed in knife-hand back stance.

Everything felt right, the twist, the position of my arms, my perfect focus, my landing, everything. All rolled into a split second it felt as if my whole being was working as one. And then it was gone.

"Impressive Tir," Kara complimented me, "I've never seen Empi performed as such."

"Thanks," I said modestly, "But I've been in karate for five years, I should think I know what I'm doing."

"Either way," Tai cut in before we could go any further, "We should get to work on our sparring. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Kara and I both replied in unison.

"Mind if I join you?" Ronnie asked, clearly having come down the stairs whilst we were practicing.

"Sure, go ahead," I offered. She was back in a minute, gi, gloves and mouthguard all in place.

"Let's dance, lover boy," she taunted as we started circling one another.

"Uh, can I interrupt for a second?" Kara asked. We nodded our assent, and she continued, "If you two are brother and sister, then shouldn't Tai and myself fight each of you?"

"Huh," I murmured, "Not a bad idea. So, which of you will face me?"

"I will," Kara volunteered on the spot.

"Fine," Ronnie conceded, letting the younger girl take her usual spot, "Just don't beat up my little brother too badly."

"Oh, I won't. I'll leave just enough for you to boss around," she grinned as her footsteps became more wary.

"Thanks. Hey!" Ronnie called out irately, just before my subconscious tuned her out.

We circled each other like wolves, assessing each other, one sizing the other up, looking for a potential weakness. I certainly couldn't see Kara, though it wouldn't have helped much if I could.

Just as my back foot struck the ground she sprang, lashing an arm to the side of my head. I blocked her knife hand as a roundhouse kick snapped out at my face. I whipped my body around and raised my knee, letting it take the brunt of her blow.

She took that moment to aim a punch at my face. The slightest snap of her gi gave her away. Instantly my open hand whipped out and blocked her punch at the wrist. With one quick movement my raised foot flicked out and caught her just under her arm, a perfect side-snap kick.

As soon as my blow landed she stepped backwards into yoi, or standby position. I followed her lead and we bowed to each other.

"You're pretty quick, you know that," I praised her, "I don't think anyone's ever given me such a run for my money."

"I've never encountered anyone who can anticipate my movements so accurately. What's your secret?" she asked innocently.

"You really wanna know?" I asked. Receiving no reply I assumed that she had nodded. "Blind as a dead bat," I answered, waving a hand in front of my closed eyes.

All action in the room had ceased. Ronnie and Tai had stopped sparring and watched in stunned silence, waiting for Kara's response. I could sense her just standing there, staring at me.

Finally she replied, "You've never given me the impression that you were blind."

"Yeah. I get that a lot," I answered, "But the truth is, I've never actually seen "you"."

We were all silent a moment longer, before Ronnie's fist ground its knuckles into my skull. In between her fits of giggling she laughed, "We really had ya going there for a sec, didn't we, you two?"

"Yeah, you should've seen the look on your faces," Tai barked, "Kara looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights, and you looked like a horse sitting on a hornet's nest!" Their laughter was contagious, and soon all of us were laughing hysterically. That is, until mom called us all for supper.

Dinner was a relatively light affair, since Tai, Kara's and my karate class, and Ronnie's taekwando were only about an hour and a half away. And since this was one of the last classes prior to testing, we wanted to give it our all. Sensei Yamata wouldn't let us test otherwise.

After dinner we shifted ourselves for the Martial Arts Centre, making it with about a half-hour to spare. We changed into our gis, the badges of the Shotokan tiger, the representative of our style of karate, worn proudly on our left sides.

We bowed into our dojo, then signed our names on the attendance sheet. After that, we were free to warm-up. Sensei Yamata himself welcomed Kara to the dojo, as did everyone else in the room. And then class began.

"Mister Morgan," Sensei Yamato's loud voice grated, "Let's see you take on the new girl. And try to go easy on her."

"Osu," I answered in reply, then stepped to where I knew my place to be in the circle.

"Rei," he boomed. Both Kara and I bowed. Basics and kata had gone well. Bassai-dai had been performed like a breeze. Well, actually, more like knocking down a building. Anyway, now came the jui-kumite, or free-style sparring. Two people face off, and the first to score a full point against the other wins. Kara and I were doing this now.

"Shobu-Ippon. Hajime!" and we both crouched into fighting stances. I could feel her eyes boring into me, and my ears strained for any irregular movement. She lashed out with the ridge of her hand, intent on my throat.

Like chain lightning I whipped under her arm when it was too late for her to withdraw her attack and landed an excellent under-hand blow to her stomach. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to let her know I wasn't joking around.

She gave me the same message next time around, when she caught me with a vicious four-kick combination. Two front snap kicks, a roundhouse, and she finished me with a back-thrust to the face.

Many people were surprised at that, and not just because she'd scored a point on me. If I could have seen it it would have looked to be an excellent offense. But that was the easy stuff. Now the fight became more serious.

Any pretense of assessing each other's weaknesses was long gone. We were both tied at a half-point, and only one of us could win. Nothing outside us existed. Beyond us, there was only darkness and silence.

As if in a dream she came in slow motion, her fist aimed at my head. I ducked the blow with the same sort of dynamic tension, and just about had my nose crushed into my skull by her knee. I dropped all the way down to my own knees and used a rising block to effectively lock her leg in that position.

I rose then, as fast as I could, trying to put her off balance. Suddenly her lower leg flicked out and caught in my armpit. I could almost see the roundhouse coming from her other leg, hissing through the air until it lightly tapped my head. The movement had caused my grip on her leg to slacken entirely, and she landed easily on her feet.

The match was over.

"Those were some awesome moves, Kara!" I exclaimed as we left the MAC after class.

"Oh, come on, I nearly landed on my own behind," she answered modestly.

"But you didn't," Tai backed me up, "I've never seen anyone do that to Tir before. I think you just made a new world's record."

"Thanks, guys," she said appreciatively, "I'd best be getting home. See ya tomorrow!"

"See ya!" we called back.

"So Tir?" Ronnie asked, "Detected any ghosts yet?"

"Actually, no. Things seem to have gone pretty qu-" my eyes sparked.

"What is it?" Tai asked, a little bit unawares of our ghost-fighting methods.

"You know the drill," Ronnie hissed. We both ducked behind a dumpster, making sure that Eunagi Yurei wasn't in it, and suited up.

The ghost made his debut by means of dropping from the sky like a meteor. A large crater formed in the ground where it struck.

"Fire," I murmured to myself, "Why do they always use fire?"

A huge, dark shape emerged from the wreckage and sizzling debris. It was an enormous dog, a hellhound if you will. It was about the size of a lioness, although it was black, with smouldering red eyes.

Green flames licked at its elbows, knees, and the end of its tail.

"BEHOLD MY WRATH, MORTALS! FLEE BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD'S END!"

"We'll see about that!" I roared back. My sword flicked out of its sheath, and with one stroke an enormous blast of energy hurtled towards my canine foe.

"FOOL!" he bellowed. A moment later, my blast was pierced through by what looked like a jet of pure fire. I narrowly evaded the attack before the beast was upon me.

He pinned my arms to the ground and hissed, "YIELD BEFORE INUHI, CHILD! BOW YOUR HEAD BEFORE ME!"

"What? And give you the satisfaction of beating me? In your dreams, fido!" I shot as I rammed my knees into his stomach.

"Ronnie! Now!" I shouted. Inuhi barely had any time to see what sent him back to the Ghost Zone.

We high-fived as her battle-suit and my ghost-powers vanished.

"You know, I've never actually seen you two in action before," Tai said as we continued our walk home, "You looked pretty cool out there."

"It's all in a day's work," I answered.

"Hey, is it just me, or is that a hunter's moon?" Ronnie asked, pointing to the large, almost garnet orb over our heads. "So it is," I answered. As we approached Tai's house he waved a short farewell and headed for home.

"Ah yes, a long, full day it has been," I groaned, stretching my limbs as we resumed walking. Unfortunately, my eyes went off again.

The feeling momentarily unbalanced me and I fell backwards. After Ronnie stopped laughing we went into mission mode, again, and headed for the disturbance.

I'm not sure how, but only a couple of hours after I'd banished him, Inuhi was back, although I don't think I was his target his time.

"Tir, he's at intersection 24," Ronnie's voice buzzed over the intercom, "And he's not alone."

For some odd reason this last bit of info caught my attention.

We landed, and indeed Inuhi wasn't alone, although if we hadn't intervened that may have very soon changed. With a powerful blast from my sword I knocked Inuhi to one side.

"I'll cover you, you grab his target!" I hissed over the intercom. I was cut off as Inuhi barreled into me from behind.

With one lightning movement I rammed the edge of my sword in between his jaws, then sent a huge pulse of energy through the sword. Inuhi howled in pain as he leapt back, and I took the opportunity to attack him.

Two roundhouse kicks and one rising punch later, Inuhi was down on the ground. Finally, I banished him back to the Ghost Zone, again. I looked around, and noticed that Ronnie had already left.

As I phased into Ronnie's room I noticed the small bundle on her bed. She wasn't in the room, so I changed back and decided to examine whatever it was, using my limited vision.

Under a small blanket was a white canine. It had long, pointed ears and a fox-like tail, although it was about the size of a small "lab".

I soon replaced the "it" with a "he" as I realized that it was male. His legs were a bit on the long side, and his feet were kind of small. For his size, this creature was built with a fairly light, though undoubtedly muscular, frame.

His paws were grey and his nose was black, though what caught my attention most was the pattern of his fur. On his forehead, upper legs, and around his tail and neck were green rings. This was no ordinary dog, no doubt about it.

I raised my hand to touch him, and just as my hand approached his back, a low growl rumbled from his throat. His eyes flicked open, and I beheld two large red eyes with stretched, ovular pupils leering at me.

We stared at each other for a second before his lips parted to reveal short, yet vicious little teeth. As he slowly raised himself to his feet his hackles stood up, making him appear much larger than he had when he was lying down. Just as he was opening his jaws...

"Tir, move very slowly away from that canine of you want to live," I heard Ronnie whisper from across the room. I obeyed, slowly sliding each foot back, trying not to make eye contact with the furry menace.

Just as I closed the door to her room I whipped around and asked, "What the hell is that thing?"

"Apparently, we just rescued a ghost dog," she answered, "A very temperamental ghost dog." I stared at her until she drew a book out from behind her back. "The Complete Atlas of Ghostly Creatures: Third Edition."

On page twenty-three it had a picture of a small dog with strange markings on its pelt.

"The hellhound, or ghost dog, is a vicious mythical beast from another dimension. They are usually between the size of a dachsund and a St.Bernard, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, often unique to each dog. See index below for four general cateories."

"I thnk this is the one we're looking for sis," I said as I indicated page forty-seven, marked "Moon Hounds."

"The moon hound, or canis luna, is in itself a strange creature. Of the four different categories of hell hound, this seems to have the widest spectrum of appearance, perhaps owing to the different phases of the moon, and the ever-changing night sky."

"Despite the many different appearances of the moon hound, one key trait is common among all of them: they all have at least one green mark on their bodies."

"Contrary to what many people believe, a moon hound can be seen during the day, just like its opposite, the sun hound. The key is that the moon hound is simply more powerful at night. It is at its least powerful, however, during the changing hours, especially dawn."

"Unlike the name implies, a hell hound of any sort is as wild as a wolf, so it is recommended that any hell hound is given a wide berth, so as it doesn't choose to attack."

As I closed the book I questioned, "And that's all the book says? Nothing that can really help us?"

"Looks like we'll just have to figure this one out on our own," Ronnie accepted, "Either way, that creature's hurt, and we have to help it."

"Yeah, you're right," I admitted, "I'm going in."

The hound had returned to his lying down position, and was sleeping peacefully. Something I noticed at that point that I hadn't noticed before were the bite marks and traces of ghost blood along the creature's back.

As I closed the door his ears flicked up. By the time I'd gotten close enough to touch him he was once again standing, if somewhat dazedly, and snarling.

The green rings on his body seemed a bit more pale than they had before. I wondered at this as I approached him. He growled louder and opened his mouth.

It was lined with needle-sharp, serrated teeth, perfect for sheering meat from bone. Just around the edge of my vision I noticed two long, silvery bands of what appeared to be metal.

The hound opened his jaws wider, and I observed that the bands seemed to move further apart. Just as it dawned on me what the bands were the dog snapped his jaws shut like a vice.

A split second later I had transormed and gone intangible, not a moment too soon. If not for that I might only have been half a person from then on. As I opened my eyes, having shut them when the dog's false jaws snapped shut, I beheld a strange thing.

The creature actually seemed to have calmed down. I moved a bit closer, and he just looked at me. I sat down on the bed next to him, then chanced rubbing the back of his neck.

He responded by getting to his feet and stretching, then turned to me and started sniffing my hand. Getting an idea in my head, I transformed back immediately.

Using my ghost vision I noticed that the dog had stopped sniffing my hand, leering at me with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He very slowly started sniffing again, and I transformed back, waiting for him to put two and two together. After the fifth or sixth time I did it, the little beast finally realized that Tirrell Morgan and Yurei Ninja were one and the same.

When he finally realized this he leaped on me and started licking my face.

"Hey! Stop! You're killing me here!" I said in mock fear.

Without realizing that I was joking Ronnie must have overheard what I was saying and barged into the room. Immediately the canine's ears flicked up and his lips parted in a low, menacing growl.

"No!" I said sternly to him, trying to get him off my chest, "No! She's a friend, so don't hurt her, okay?"

He continued to glare fiercely at Ronnie, but he stopped growling and sealed his lips.

"Uh, Tir? You wanna explain what exactly is happening here?" she asked, slowly lowering the ghost sniper she held in her hands.

"Sis, I think we have a new pet," I said calmly, scratching my furry friend behind his ears. He responded in kind by rapidly thumping his right foot against Ronnie's bed.

"Good morning Ti- Oh my God!" mom said loudly as we entered the kitchen.

"Uh, Tir. What have I told you about bringing strange animals into the house?" she inquired fiercely as she took a step forward.

Sensing something was wrong the dog raised the hackles on the back of his neck. He wasn't growling yet, but that might soon follow.

"Mom, I found him out in the street yesterday night, and he's injured. Can I at least keep him around until he's all healed up? Please?" I begged.

She considered this for a moment before she said, "Alright. But you take care of him, you feed him, you train him and you pay for him. If he bites anyone, he's gone. Is that clear?"

"Thanks mom," I said, sounding relieved. It was the weekend, so I was able to ring up Tai and Kara and invite them over so they could hear the news.

"Aww, isn't he the cutest thing," Kara exclaimed as she scratched him behind the ears. He rubbed up against her hand, eyes closed, as a groan of pleasure rumbled from deep within his throat. All three of us just stared, slack-jawed, as they played.

"Kara, you do realize that you're the first person that dog hasn't growled at as soon as he met them, right?" Ronnie asked.

"Maybe I just have a very likeable personality," She grinned, "Does he have a name?"

"Actually, we haven't decided on a name yet," I answered, "But it'll come to me eventually." All things considered, our newest accomplice was adjusting to us well.

"See ya at school Monday!" I called as Kara left. I looked out and stared at the sunset momentarily before I went in.

"Tai," I said as I entered my room, "That is no ordinary dog."

"How so?" he asked, scratching the dog's belly. After you introduced that dog to someone and he got a good sniff of them, he was actually pretty friendly.

"He's a hell hound, specifically of the branch canis luna, or moon hound. And he came from the Ghost Zone."

Tai stopped scratching the hound's stomach and stared at him. "He does look like a very strange dog," was all that Tai could say, "Why did you decide to keep him? And without your mom knowing?"

"She knows that we now have a dog, but she doesn't know about the ghost part of the deal. As to why I want to keep him, you never know when we might need a strong set of teeth."

"Good point," Tai conceded, "Besides, he seems like a fairly peaceable ghost."

"Yeah, I guess you-" at that moment, the dog's ears flicked up and his eyes opened, his grooming immediately forgotten. A low growl rumbled from deep within his chest, and a split second later, I knew why. My eyes sparked like a lightning rod.

"Yurei to Shiro, we've got a bogie, over."

"Loud and clear, Yurei," her voice came back over the earpiece.

I transformed just as the dog bounded across the room and leapt through the wall. "If you wanna watch, keep up," I said as a parting message to Tai before I followed the dog through the wall and out into the open air.

"BOW BEFORE DYNASTINA, MORTALS! I HAVE COME TO STAY, AND RULE OVER YOUR PATHETIC LIVES!" she acclaimed as she absorbed the darkness from countless people.

She was much taller this time, at least fifty feet in height, with a trim of flames along the edge of her skirt.

"Hey, Dynastina!" I bellowed as I drew my sword, "Eat this!" A huge bolt of white light shot from my sword. Dynastina barely had enough time to form a shield around herself before my attack struck.

"OH! THE HALF-WRETCH! GOTTEN MORE POWERFUL, HAVE WE? WELL SO HAVE I!" she thundered as a huge beam of fire shot from her palms. With one powerful stroke I attempted to thwart Dynastina's assault, but as my blast came in contact with her beam, a large shockwave billowed out from the point of interception, and her beam punched through my vicious slash.

It was all I could do to get out of the way whilst the beam vaporized the ground behind me.

With practiced ease I sprang over Dynastina's beam, the released two powerful blasts of energy. Within one second she had vaporized both of them, though that was all the time I'd needed.

I rammed both of my fists home, making contact with her jaw, then two powerful sword blasts to her middle, followed by a 109 mph- driven punch to her face.

She expelled a huge cloud of dark smoke, then was lying on the ground at normal size. I sent her back, and was just about to go home when a huge black shape rammed into my back and pinned me to the ground.

Kicking wouldn't save me this time. "Back so soon, Inuhi?" I groaned as I tried to wriggle out from under his huge paws.

"DON'T TRIFLE WITH ME, WRETCH, NOW WHERE IS THE WHELP HOUND?"

"Oh, is that that little furball you were ripping apart yesterday when we intervened?" I asked.

"ACTUALLY, YES," he growled, and I could feel his claws digging into the back of my wrists and ankles as he breathed into my ear, "NOW WHERE IS THE MOON HOUND?"

"I'm not gonna tell you if you keep digging your claws into my wrists and ankles, now am I?" I asked in return. I felt Inuhi's claws slacken ever so slightly. I decided to play the charade a little longer and asked, "Why are you so concerned about one little ghost dog? Could he have so badly humiliated you that you want him without afterlife?"

His claws renewed their savage piercing of my flesh as Inuhi lowered his mouth to my ear and hissed, "UMBRUS HAS ALREADY CONDEMNED HIMSELF TO AN UNLIVING DEATH. HE HAS DISHONORED HIMSELF, AS HE HAS DISHONORED HIS KIN."

My mind started to comprehend Inuhi's motives as his next words stopped my mind dead, "NOW I AM GOING TO ASK YOU ONCE MORE, GHOST WHELP. WHERE IS MY SON?"

Something rammed into Ihuhi's side, throwing him off my back. Ignoring my injuries I seized my blade and rounded on Inuhi.

Before I could, however, it seemed as though Inuhi already had problems of his own. Umbrus, the little dog I had saved and healed, despite his father's greater size and his own injuries, had bitten deeply into Inuhi's back, whilst his claws rammed again and again into Ihuhi's ecto-flesh.

"FOOLISH WHELP," Inuhi grated as one of his eyes flicked open, "YOU HAVE DEFIED MY MASTER ONCE, AND I WILL BANISH YOU INTO THE SECOND DEATH BEFORE I LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!"

Umbrus's pupils narrowed as the green rings across his body started to glow. Ronnie must have appeared without my knowledge, because as she tried to help Umbrus I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.

"Stay here," I whispered, not parting my eyes from the fight, "Umbrus must fight this battle on his own."

Inuhi was raging now, sprinting and bucking in an attempt to throw his adversary off his back. Finally, whether by his own will or not, Umbrus released his hold on Inuhi, landing behind him. Inuhi whipped around and charged.

Just at the last second, Umbrus whipped to one side and nipped at the larger animal's heels in passing. Turning around again, Inuhi didn't charge.

Instead he stood in one place for a moment, baring his teeth and snarling. After a short time his feet ignited, as I had seen Tarra and Tanna do. Umbrus followed suit. Suddenly, Inuhi's whole body burst into flames, and he did not look happy. Huge red flames licked at his fur and flesh as he glared at Umbrus.

Umbrus was not phased by this show of force. Instead the rings in his coat glowed brighter, shimmering and dancing in the dull light. Despite his considerable injuries, he actually seemed to be getting stronger.

"How can Umbrus possibly hope to win?" Ronnie whispered, slowly fingering the trigger of her sniper, "Inuhi's so much bigger and stronger than him."

I looked up at the sky momentarily, as if I might find answers there. In a way, I did.

"Sis, there is an old saying in karate: "The size of a man in a fight doesn't matter. It's the size of the fight in the man that determines the outcome." Don't count Umbrus out just yet."

Inuhi charged with lightning speed. Umbrus waited for the attack to come, then leapt over his father's head and landed behind him. Inuhi, unable to stop himself, slammed through the corner of a building.

When he emerged from the debris he looked every inch of a hell hound. Ghost blood and clumps of ragged fur and torn hide hung from his smouldering corpse.

"AWAKEN, MY SON. EMBRACE THE NIGHT TO WHICH YOU WERE BORN," Inuhi uttered. Every hair on Umbrus's body stood on end as a wave of energy pulsed from him. He actually seemed to be glowing as his teeth ground together and every muscle in his lean body tensed.

Another spike of energy came from him as his father started pacing around him, uttering, "YES, MY SON, LET THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT GROW IN YOUR HEART. EMBRACE YOUR PRIME, EMBRACE THE DARK, FOR ONLY THEN CAN YOU BE A TRUE HELL HOUND, IN BODY AND IN BOND."

At that point I chose to intervene. Sprinting as fast as my legs would carry me I slammed into Inuhi's ribs, knocking him hard to one side. His balance and long claws prevented him from being knocked completely over, however.

He leapt at me, claws first. I simply phased through him and turned around. We faced each other for a moment, before out of nowhere missiles and lasers galore landed on and around my opponent. He howled in pain and frustration as he whipped around and shot towards Ronnie like a bullet.

I watched for a moment as they fought a deadly dance in the air overhead, Ronnie's missiles and railguns firing like no tomorrow. At one point Inuhi ran a straight line across the ground, with a line of Ronnie's missiles striking the ground at his heels.

But eventually, it was one of Inuhi's powerful jets of flame that knocked Ronnie out of the sky. She was lucky that her suit had an autopilot option that kicked in after she lost consciousness, otherwise the fall may have killed her.

Inuhi landed beside her. Realizing that she was unconscious he turned his attention to me. There was no reckless charge this time. Instead Inuhi flared his body once more, and circled me, as I did likewise. Steam gushed from his nostrils as his whole body flared with heat. The very aspalt at our feet melted at his touch.

"STAY OUT OF THIS MATTER. IT DOES NOT CONCERN YOU."

I circled slowly around him, crossing one foot over the other. The razor-keen edge of my sword glowed and crackled with energy.

"It does now, now that you're attacking my friend."

With one blood-red eye centred on me Inuhi swiped at me. I parried the blow with my sword as Inuhi struck again, and again.

"UMBRUS IS MY SON, A HELL HOUND OF THE MOON."

The vibrations from every stroke reverberated through my hands, until I blocked one swipe then thrust the point of my sword at Inuhi's face.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is how he chooses to live his afterlife, not how you want him to live it."

As he leapt back I released a vicious blast of energy. It was immediately pierced by one of Inuhi's fire blasts as the beast himself charged at me.

"UMBRUS IS A HOUND OF THE NIGHT. DARKNESS IS IN HIS NATURE. HE MUST BOW TO IT IN ORDER TO ATTAIN HIS FULL POWER."

I held my sword in front of me in an attempt at holding back the vicious beast, which only resulted in his jaws grasping tight hold on my sword.

"Even in the dark of night there is still light, Inuhi. Just because your son was born and raised into darkness, do not think that he should be afraid to step out into the light."

As I had tried last time I sent a shock through my sword, and then several more, though all they seemed to do was tighten Inuhi's grip on my sword.

Finally, Inuhi thrust forward and down, knocking me onto the ground. His huge feet kept my legs in check, whilst his jaws kept my arms occupied. That, unfortunately, left his fiery front paws. He dug them into my chest, then slowly raked his claws down my chest.

To this day I have thanked God himself for my thick costume. Inuhi wrenched his enormous jaws backwards, twisting the sword out of my hands. "NOW DIE," were his only words before his jaws opened wide enough to encircle a soccerball. Just as his jaws started to snap shut he was once again removed from me.

"UMBRUS!" he roared with anger, "STOP THIS AT-"

I turned to see that a dramatic change had overtaken my canine companion. The green rings that clothed his furry frame shone like green fire, as did every silvery hair on his back. His eyes glowed like sparkling rubies, catching the sun's brilliance. The greatest change of all, however, was in the very air surrounding Umbrus.

The air sparkled and glowed as though it had numerous sparkles of iridescent dust floating in it. This strange aura glowed from Umbrus's body, reflecting and amplifying every hair, every nerve, and every flexing muscle throughout him.

"HOW?" Inuhi said in a low voice, "HOW COULD YOU RESIST THE INTENSE PULL OF YOUR OWN DARK NATURE. AS A MOON HOUND YOUR POWER LIES IN DARKNESS."

"No, Inuhi," I gasped as I raised myself on an elbow, "The light is his calling. The light is in his nature, and that is the pull that he cannot resist."

"YOU ARE MISTAKEN," he hissed, rising to his own four feet, "A MOON HOUND IS AND CAN ONLY BE DARKNESS. THE VERY TIME OF YOUR BIRTH INDICATED SO, JUST AS THE TIME OF MY BIRTH INDICATED THAT I WAS A HOUND OF THE SUN."

"The moon glows in the night, Inuhi," I countered, "Just as shadows lurk in the day. In every light there is some darkness, just as in every darkness there is a little light."

"You both made a choice between light and darkness, Inuhi," I said coolly as I raised my hand, "You just made the wrong one."

A second later Inuhi was gone. I turned to my companion, whose shimmering glow was already starting to fade. I called to Tai, who I had only just realized had actually followed us from my house, "Want to help me collect my sister so we can go home?"

And there's chapter 10! More chapters will follow it, just as others have preceded it.

A new member's on the team, the tiniest inkling of the main plot has been revealed, and so far the most reviews I've received for a single chapter is three!

Come on, people! I'm begging you to review as much as you can! REVIEW! (slap!) I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll enjoy the next one too. Bye for now!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: I don't own DP.

If you've ever played those Metroid games, try and imagine the "equipment" in this chapter looking something along the  
lines of Samus's power suit.

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

darkflame1516- I pride myself on my spicy comments, and since the sleep warrior is probably going to read this too, she'll find out about your spinny chair. Honestly, the partner idea has been in my head for a while, but it took me a fair time to figure out how I would get it to work. Yes, Eunagi Yurei is supposed to be like the Box Ghost. Thanks for noticing! And the bit way back with Dynastina, I came up with that idea with the ogre guy, how he sort of went inside the ogre's head to understand what he was saying. Personally, I thought that that was painfully obvious too. And how else would I give him ghost powers, without some dramatic twist of fate.

nooneluvsme- Yeah. We could form some some sort of spinny chair legion of doom. All we need is a diabolical plot. By the way, what the heck is a baka?

the sleep warrior- thanks for the back-up, though I now have 24 reviews and a maximum of four per chapter. It's not fair that my older brother has only four chapters for his fic, and he's got 20 reviews, and a maximum of six per chapter.

This chapter, for various reasons, isn't entirely narrated by Tirrell, as the others have been. Instead, this episode in my fic  
is narrated by Ronnie, or it is done in the third person.

Also, try and imagine the main villain in this chapter with the voice of Keith David (Goliath from Gargoyles, Atlas from Teen  
Titans, Tublat from Tarzan: TAS, and Despero from Justice League).

Read on!

Chapter 11 (Machines of War)

"Colonel Suzuki, sir," a young man with short fair hair, dark eyes and a heavy-set frame saluted an older man with grey hair and a square face.

The colonel wasn't as young as he had once been, but his dark eyes still shone with life, and under his uniform thick cords and strong  
muscles still lined his frame.

"At ease, Captain Solwind," the colonel answered his underling, "Now where's the fire?"

"The tech boys down in the lab wanted to show you the prototypes, sir. You know how they get about their work."

"Yes, those tech dweebs take a lot of pride in their efforts," the colonel replied with a smile just touching the corners of his mouth. "And they have a darn right to be. If those prototypes work as well as their creators say they will, then at least we won't  
have to worry about one old threat."

"Well," Suzuki groaned as he raised himself from his chair, "We'd best go and check out what they've been working on for the past  
year."

Several elevators, three corridors and a staircase later, they came to an enormous door, coated in what looked like green glow-in-the-dark paint.

After a bi-retinal scan, a gel handpad, a weight verification and two separate vocal and binary code phrases, plus an ecto-filter, the door opened.

A huge lab the size of four football fields extended before the two men. Men in lab coats were everywhere, with clipboards, laptops and  
cell phones galore.

Computerized images and schematics for numerous pieces of equipment and parts lined the walls, with numerous debate tables and conferences going on all over the place.

Battle simulations and what looked like flight simulators lined most of one wall, with numerous people practising and fighting in them.

Walking up to the front desk Suzuki ordered, "Get Major Hanlin down here now."

A few minutes later a young man in a white coat with a major's rank insignia arrived at the front desk. He wasn't a very large man, far from it, but he carried himself with the confidence his work would imply. At least until the colonel deflated him.

"You're late, Hanlin," he said sharply, nearly making the other man jump.

"Sorry sir, but we were just running some last-minute diagnostics on the last of the prototypes, just to make absolutely sure that  
there aren't any bugs in their systems," Hanlin explained nervously.

Suzuki was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Calm down, son. I know how hard you tech boys have been working on these things, so I also know that you're very nervous about finally giving them a field test."

Hanlin nodded, and his CO continued, "Let's just get this review over and done with. You've walked me through this stuff so slowly that a dead duck could understand it, and so far I've liked what I've heard. But if you want someone else to walk me through the review, then by all means take a break. Lord knows you've earned it."

"Oh no, sir, I couldn't do that," Hanlin gasped. The colonel raised his eyebrows, and Hanlin continued, "I've been working on this for so long and so hard that my head aches when I go home at night. I just couldn't let someone else show you how hard we've all worked after all that."

Suzuki's smile deepened as he clapped Hanlin on the shoulder and beamed, "That's what I like to hear, son. Now let's go administer the final exam."

OOOOO

They stopped at the far end of the complex, which had yet another locked door.

"This, colonel, is the examination room, where every part of these prototypes has been tested intensely. As well, our four graduatedpilots will each be piloting one of these XCGFs, or Xisiphas-Class Ghost Fighters. Rest assured sir, this will be a good show."

The door opened, and the three men stepped into a dark room. "Solwind, shed some light on this dark situation."

The lights flicked on, not in the tiny room that the three men were in, but the light cast by the lights that were coming on on the  
other side of the window proved to be ample.

The lights that were coming on showed a stadium, about the size of a football field.

Just as the colonel sat down, Hanlin stepped forward and said, "You needn't bother sitting sir. As soon as the exam gets underway  
you're face will be pressed against the window anyway."

"Bull horns," Suzuki said disbelievingly, "I've seen men blown apart not ten feet away! I can handle a little examination like this without getting excited."

"Suit yourself, sir," Hanlin sighed. He pressed a button, then said into a speaker that extended down from the ceiling, "Maintenance team, send in test subject one."

A moment later a door on one side of the stadium opened. And then the colonel's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Almost a half a ton of anti-gravitized PR (Phase Resist) alloy stepped out into the stadium. It was vaguely humanoid, with various smooth metallic plates and tubes across its surface.

It entered the stadium as a dark grey, but within seconds bright red and yellow covered its enormous form. Eyes, gold in colour, flashed briefly as the machine took a few steps forward. It appeared hulking and slow, but none the less impressive.

"This sir, is the X-13 Praetor, operated by Lieutenant Sane Yashimi. Unlike the other ghost suits you'll be seeing this evening, though they each have their own unique weapon, this is the only one that can actually shift parts of its form into ghost weapons."

As Hanlin spoke the suit leaped higher into the air than its size and appearance would imply. Immediately, numerous guns and turrets emerged from the walls, all aimed at the mechanoid before them.

For a split second the Praetor floated in midair, then the thrusters on its back leapt into action. It rocketed across the room with tremendous speed, flickering and dodging every beam, bullet and lazer that targeted it.

"As you can see, the Praetor is a hundred times faster than its size implies."

The Praetor pulled a gun about the length of a bull's head from itship and fired it, blowing huge impact craters across the walls of the chamber.

"It is equipped with a pair of delta-class plasma rifles, which fire an ecto-neutralization beam at a high rate of fire."

Missiles and beams fell from the suit like rain, blowing up numerous more turrets that were still shooting at and missing it.

"Also it is equipped with an ectosnet multi-missile launcher on its right arm."

One of the Praetor's hands flicked to its waist, and a second later it was equipped with a vicious beam sword. Flying faster than a sonic boom it rocketed around the chamber, slashing and thrusting the sword through and into numerous more guns.

"An anti-ghost beam sword is sheathed on its left hip, and extends to its full length as the weapon is drawn from its holster."

The shooting had stopped, because every gun in the room, aside fromthose equipped to the Praetor, was destroyed.

Again Hanlin spoke into the microphone, "Begin phase two."

A huge white drone extended from the ceiling, equipped with numerous guns and beam weapons. It targeted the Praetor and fired.

"But the most effective and surprising of the Praetor's weapons..."

The Praetor dodged the shot easily, then its right arm glowed a bright red and transformed into what looked like a cannon.

"Is it's ability to shift its arms between their multi-purpose form and their seige form."

A huge blast of blue and red energy shot from the centre of the Praetor's cright arm, and penetrated the drone with ease. It shifted back into its normal form and started walking towards the exit of the room as the drone fell to the ground and exploded behind it.

"In its seige mode, the Praetor's attacks are slower and leave it a bit more vulnerable, no doubt. But the cannon configuration allows it to blast an enormous omni-beam at its opponents, allowing it to strike and puncture its opponents directly. Thank you, Lt. Yashimi. You may leave now."

Just as the exit door closed the entrance door opened. A large green suit with light blue arms, legs and glowing blue eyes emerged from the doorway. If anything, this one seemed clumsier than itspredecessor.

Short spines jutted from the large backpack it carried, giving the impression that it was slightly bigger than it really was.

"This suit, colonel, is the X-12 Judicator, operated by Master Sergeant Artemis Mallen."

In phase one of the test, the Judicator proved to be only a bit slower than the Praetor, and only slightly less manueverable.

Its dual GGG, or Ghost Gatling Gun, ranged weapons proved to beextremely effective and quick in wiping out the numerous turrets  
across the chamber, as well as its shield & beam sword combination.

When phase two of the examination hit, the colonel was shocked to find the spines on the back of the Judicator come into action.

"The Judicator is capable of releasing up to twelve of these manual selection auto-targeting drones, which effectively draw off the  
enemy's fire..."

In its vain attempts to destroy the drones, the mechanoid in the centre of the room failed to focus its fire on the Judicator, whichfinished it off with a vicious thrust to its central OS.

As the Judicator left the room yet another suit entered the chamber. It was black and orange, mostly, with white on its arms and legs, and gold eyes. On its back was what looked like a large jetpack.

It took off viciously, screaming around the chamber, blasting every gun in sight. It was equipped with ectosnet missiles on its right  
arm, and it wielded dual beam swords with ruthless efficiency.

"This is the X-33 Executor, piloted by Corporal Tyne Snow."

The Executor was extremely agile and fast, with a firing speed that rivalled the Judicator's GGG weapons.

"Major, why does this suit have some sort of jetpack? It's not even using it," the colonel questioned his underling.

"That is true sir, but I was hoping to show you the function of the suit's backpack in phase two."

When phase two rolled around, Suzuki was watching intently, lest he miss the deploying of the Executor's unique weapon.

At first, nothing seemed to be happening. But just as the Executor manuevered around one of the drone's energy beams the backpack  
snapped to life.

It latched into the back of the Executor, then two huge arms extended from it, wielding enormous beam swords.

Numerous guns, lazers and missile launchers extended from the backpack, then fired simultaneously at the enormous drone before it as the two enormous swords took the drone through its centre.

Alone, each weapon probably wouldn't have been enough to destroy the drone, but with all of them combined, the drone was ripped  
apart and exploded almost instantly.

"Amazing!" Suzuki exclaimed, "I've never seen anything like this in all my life. With or without those plans and lessons you gave me son I was definitely not prepared for this!"

"Thank you sir," Hanlin nodded, "Now, if I could just get into the more general schematics for these ghost suits-"

Hanlin was cut off as an enormous explosion rocked the chamber. All three men were knocked over as the power was momentarily cut off.

"Hanlin, what the hell happened!" Suzuki roared.

"I don't know sir, but we'd best find out."

Just as the men were leaving the room a second explosion came from the entrance door to the arena below. They rushed back to the  
window as a black shape whipped into the air and blasted through the chamber's walls, then flickered out through the hole it had created and was gone.

"I think I know what that was now, sir," Hanlin whispered.

"What was it?" Suzuki asked in a voice that surprisingly matched Hanlin's in volume.

"I think someone has stolen the fourth suit sir. They've stolen the X-15 Arbiter!"

OOOOO

"So, how'd it go?" Tir asked as we walked home from the MAC. He had performed his black-belt testing the previous day, and he had done well. I had just completed my own testing, though it was for my second black-belt in judo.

"Not bad. I really felt into it. I'm just wondering if it will be enough." I said a tad nervously.

"Of course it'll be enough," Tir exclaimed, "You sis, are the fastest thing on two feet, not to mention the most spirited."

"I'm not the one who sprained his wrist during his testing and stayed to finish up," I grinned wryly, casting a glance at Tir's slinged forearm.

"Good point," he said, running a hand over his injury, "I wonder where Tai was this evening. There's no class, but I should think he would have attended your testing."

"Maybe he just had something else to do. You and I both know that unexpected things can get in the way of one's plans," I said,reminiscing on the many times in the past couple months that we'd been inconvenienced by our "hobby".

Tir stopped walking for a moment. "Speaking of our hobby..."

I had run behind the dumpster and suited up in seconds, then I almost flew off before I realized that Tir hadn't joined me.

"Are you coming or aren't you?" I asked.

"I really don't want to stress my arm, sis, so could you handle them for the next few days?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, then said, "Sure. I can handle them for the next few days." I flew off without another word.

OOOOO

Missiles flew everywhere, lashing across the beast's thick blue skin. Typhonus, an enormous sea serpent that Tir and I had encountered before, was once again rampaging along the shore.

He had dark red compound eyes, and huge mandibles. Perhaps his most lethal asset: he could spit acid.

Missiles and nets rained down on him, shocking him and sapping his ghost energies.

The enormous beast howled with rage, then spat a huge jet of acid at me. I evaded the jet, then zig-zagged close and blasted my railguns into Typhonus's main weak point, his mouth.

Just as he was dropping back into the water, scorched and unconscious, I fired my ghost sniper. He was back in the Ghost Zone, and I was on my way home.

OOOOO

Just as I was walking down the street to my house, a large shadow flickered overhead.

The ghost detector in my GGW went off, and I groaned, "A ghost-fighter's work is never done."

Once again I flew off. Although this time things were a bit more interesting.

A large black form was flying ahead of me. Fast. I directed all the thrusters in my suit so that they pointed forward.

In all the times that Tir and I had hunted ghosts, this was the first one that was able to outfly me. And I couldn't see how, since it didn't appear to have wings or thrusters of any sort.

"Eat this, ghost boy!" I yelled as I deployed my railguns, blasting it in one shoulder.

"Ectosnet fire!" and missiles crashed into the strange ghost. It howled, then started to descend.

At the last second it turned itself upwards and landed lightly on its hands and feet.

I landed behind it, then asked, "Who are you, and why have you come here?"

As it turned, I saw it fully for the first time. It was quite large, about seven feet tall, and very broad.

It was black, with red cracks all across its body. It had red eyes and a slightly square black head with red cracks down its forehead and brow. It bore no nose or ears, or even a mouth.

Muscles bulged from beneath its black hide, and it gave off this feeling of total dominance.

"Child," it said in a deep, grating voice, "Let me be, for I am hunted. I wish only to live freely of my own will."

The ghost's voice surprised me. Most of them seem to have a sort of warped, dramatic quality to them. Not this guy.

"Then take it about forty miles north of here," I replied, "No offense but people get freaked out over types that look like you."

"I can't do that, child," the ghost grated, "If I go north, than I shall never know freedom."

"Then you shall go no further," I warned, my ghost sniper already in my hands.

"HUHUHUHAHAHAHAAAAH! You think you can stop me? No one can defeat Black Fist!"

"Then I'll be the first," I retorted, firing off my ghost sniper with lightning quickness.

In a blur of motion Black Fist easily evaded my attack and returned it from one of his hands. I narrowly evaded it.

"I am equipped with the most advanced of this world's devices, child. What hope do you have against me!"

"About three months pay and some of the most advanced ghost-fighting technology on the planet," I shot back as I fired off my ectosnet missiles.

Black Fist simply formed a shield from his left hand, which easily withstood my barrage. "Your technology is outdated, child. My weapons and skill are far your superior."

"There are two things in this world that I really hate: history class, and anyone with a huge superiority complex!" I yelled as Iunsheathed my sword.

"Two can play that game, little girl," Black Fist grinned as he formed eight red claws, four on each hand, on the back of each palm. "Mine are stronger than yours."

"Bring it," was all I said before his claws ricocheted off my blade. My sword was a blur as it struck again and again against his claws, but he blocked every blow.

For a moment our weapons locked. We stared at each other for a second before I shouted, "Railguns fire!"

Black Fist was thrown back several feet with two gaping craters in his chest.

"Care for round two, ghostie? Or should I just send you back now?" I taunted.

"That was well played, little girl," Black Fist groaned, "But I am still far from begging you for anything."

As I watched the flesh on Black Fist's chest started to twitch and squirm as it shifted position, until it resembled perfectly what it had originally looked like.

"Anything else to say before I destroy you, girl?" Black Fist taunted as he took a step forwards.

"Yeah. Sic 'em!" Umbrus, moving with lightning speed, slammed into Black Fist's back, ripping and tearing at him with teeth and claws.

By the time Umbrus was finally thrown off Black Fist's back he had done a fair bit of damage. A huge chunk of Black Fist's back was  
missing, and as for Black Fist himself, he did not look happy.

"Now you shall both die," he grated as his back regenerated and he took another step towards us.

To our great surprise, a huge barrage of missile, lasers and gunfire suddenly rained down viciously on Black Fist. The resulting explosion blew us back several hundred feet.

Then three strange-looking robots, about six and a half feet tall, landed around Black Fist's now heavily damaged remains. They looked  
like something out of a Sci-Fi flick, with plates of rounded metal covering them like armor.

As I got closer I heard one of the bots say in a woman's voice, "Neutralize the ghost before it wakes up, or Suzuki'll grill our  
hides."

"Uh, excuse me," I said to them, "But what exactly are you guys doing here?"

"Ghost! Fire!" one of them, a different female voice barked as a black and orange bot fired a large gun at Umbrus's feet. He yelped and narrowly avoided being shot by it, crouching behind my legs.

"Step away from the ghost, miss," this time a man's voice warned from a large green and blue bot, pointing a big strange-looking rifle at me, "And you won't be hurt."

"Is that a threat?" a familiar voice came from behind the bot in front of me. I looked behind it and saw Tir in ghost form, sword  
strapped to his hip.

"Another ghost?" the red bot, the first that had spoken, gasped as she pointed her own gun at him.

"Put up your weapons," Tir said sharply, "Those wouldn't help you in a fight against me. Besides, I'm not just any ghost. I am the most famous ghost in Japan."

"You don't mean-" green boy stammered. Tir nodded, and green boy almost laughed, "This is the infamous Yurei Ninja? Ha! I would've  
thought you'd be at least a grown man, not some young pup."

Tir hesitated a moment before he shot forward like a bullet and rammed the butt of his sword into the head of the bot, which was immediately followed by three consecutive kicks to the bot's chest, knocking it over.

Before he could regain his feet Tir was on his chest, energized sword pointed at his chest.

The other two bots, seeing this, raised their weapons immediately, before Tir hissed, "Try anything and he gets his clock cleaned. Understand? Now I am going to ask you guys two questions: Why are you here, and who sent you?"

Suddenly, Black Fist's dark form disappeared. If the three bots could have been glaring at us, they would have.

"He'll be back," Tir assured them, "Now answer my questions."

"If you'll get off my chest," green boy said irately from his lying position, "I'll take you to our C.O."

Tir considered this for a moment, then said, "Fine. Take us to your C.O, and we'll see what we can come up with."

OOOOO

Within the hour we arrived at what looked like an abandoned mineshaft, about twenty-five miles north of our former location.

"I thought you said you were taking us to your C.O," Tir wondered aloud.

"We are, shorty," Green bot replied impatiently, "Our base starts just under this shaft. You two ladies mind punching in your codes  
already?"

"Yes, Sarge," they said in unison as first one, and then the other punched in a set of codes.

For a second, nothing happened. Then four holes appeared in the ground.

"We'll take these three shafts, while you three I'm sure can handle the remaining one," He told us.

We nodded, then jumped into the shaft. At first it seemed like we were falling, until we righted ourselves and started flying down the shaft.

We emerged into a dark room with poor lighting. At the snap of a light switch, however, the lights flicked on in what appeared to be some kind of hangar. And our jaws dropped.

There was row after row and column after column of the same bots as the three we had just encountered.

"Whoa," Tir said, clearly amazed, though he still managed a little sarcasm as he said, "You guys certainly don't produce in bulk."

"That is exactly what we do, young man," we turned to a fairly muscular man, dressed in a green and white jumpsuit as he walked  
towards us.

"Welcome to the Japanese Military Base Yurei 1," A woman that looked to be in her late thirties, wearing a red and white jumpsuit  
welcomed us.

"And we are the world's greatest ghost hunters," a much younger woman, looking to just barely be out of college and wearing an  
orange, black and white jumpsuit smiled.

"Congrats, you three," an older man in military uniform said harshly, "Why not give them our most closely-guarded secrets?"

He then turned to us and barked, "Now what the hell are twowet-behind-the-ears kids and their dog doing in my base?"

"Um, sir," the older woman piped up, "The girl is human, but the other two are ghosts, the one in white being Yurei Ninja, sir."

"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE!" he roared, nearly popping at least one vein in his forehead.

"Sir, these two," the man said, indicating myself and Umbrus, "were fighting the rogue suit when we overtook them. If they hadn't  
distracted us we would have apprehended the culprit and retaken the Arbiter by now."

The older man seemed to have calmed down somewhat. He turned to Tir and asked, "What about you, son? Where were you during this event?"

"By the time I got to the point of contact, these three had apprehended said culprit and were threatening my partner and companion. They might not be here right now but for my timing and your officer's," he cast a warning glance at the man in green, "Impatience and illogical course of action."

"Impatience!" green boy blustered, "If you three hadn't been there then-"

"Then you'd still be trying to chase down the Arbiter, which you are anyway," a young man, rather thin with dark hair, spoke up,  
"That technology is faster than your three suits put together, and it's much more advanced. There would have been little hope anyway of you being able to apprehend the Arbiter."

"ENOUGH!" the older man yelled. "All of you, shut your mouths this instant or I'll eat you for breakfast with my eggs and bacon!"

That shut us all up. He turned to us, specifically Tir and said, "Now son, I hate to inconvenience you, but you'll have to come with us, ghost or no. We've been keeping tabs on you three, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed."

"Now let's talk..."

OOOOO

"Where are we going?" I asked the young woman who was helping escort us.

"Conference room D," she replied. She gave me what could be interpreted as a smile before she said, "I don't believe we were properly introduced. I'm Corporal Tyne Snow, operator of the Executor, the orange, black and white unit that was pointing the gun at your dog. Sorry about that."

"As for Mast. Sgnt. Artemis "Arty" Mallen. He's a bit stuck up, andhe's hated ghosts ever since his parents were killed by one on holiday in the Bahamas. He operates the Judicator, the blue andgreen suit you guys saw earlier."

"So don't judge him too harshly," the other woman, standing behind us warned, "By the way, I'm Lt. Sane Yashimi, operator of the Praetor, the red suit you saw earlier. And sorry about these guns, but it is standard procedure."

"I've never seen that kind of technology before," Tir spoke up fromin front of me, "Not even in the Ghosthunter's Exclusive."

"That's because our stuff isn't available to independent ghost-hunters. The suit your teammate is wearing, for instance, is about two years old," Yashimi explained, "This stuff won't be available to the public for about another five years yet, give or take a month."

"Pipe down back there," Mallen barked from the front of the group, "We're approaching the conference room right now."

We stepped into a room with grey walls, a grey floor, and a white ceiling with fluorescent lights. The older gentlemen from earlier was sitting at the head of the conference table.

"I just got through to H.Q. They're not all that pleased with recent developments, but they're willing to conference with you, see what you three can offer. Since I'm the C.O. of this base, and of this operation as a whole, they've given the main commanddecisions to me, since I know perhaps the most of both sides."

"Now let's get down to talking," he said, "Pull up a seat, all of you, including the pooch."

"For those of you who don't know who I am, I'm Colonel Richard Suzuki, the old head on the young shoulders of this establishment.I already know who all of you are, so let's get started. I want to be told, honestly, what happened topside. Snow, you first."

"Yes sir," she said emotionlessly, standing to attention, whilst the rest of us sat.

"Tell me what the situation was when you three arived on the scene," Suzuki said attentively.

"Sir, when we first caught up with the stolen tech, we found that it was enduring a hostile encounter with the girl you see before you," she said, indicating me, "She was using some obselete military technology to attempt to fight the culprit behind the theft."

"Juat as the stolen equipment was about to attack her, and possibly terminate her, I decided to intervene, and fired on the stolen tech. That was when the other two caught up to me."

"That's far enough, Corporal," Suzuki said as he waved a hand for her to sit down. He then turned to Yashimi and said, "Lieutenant, can you verify what Snow said was true?"

"A good deal of it, sir," she replied, taking a standing position as her sudordinate sat, "I saw only a few seconds of the girlfighting it before the Corporal opened fire."

"Do you support her actions?" Suzuki questioned her.

"Yes sir," she answered.

"Good, then please continue where the Corporal left off," he ordered.

"After Corporal Snow opened fire, which was when Mast. Sgnt. Mallen caught up with us, we descended to ground level and attempted to enclose the stolen tech in the device recommended to us by Major Hanlin," she indicated the young, thin man near the end of the table.

"Were you able to use this device?" Suzuki asked.

"No sir. We were surprised by the girl and the ghost she had with her and we failed to do so. Corp. Snow fired a single shot at the canine entity seated at this table in her surprise."

"Were any other shots fired?" the colonel asked.

"No sir, but at one point I had my gun pointed at the humanoid, and Sgnt. Mallen had pointed his own weapon at the girl."

"So no blows were dealt to these three?" he asked.

"Not to them, sir," she said with the slightest flicker of a smile on her face. Past history or no she obviously didn't like Mallen any more than Tir or I did.

"Explain your last statement, Lieutenant," Suzuki ordered sternly.

"Yes sir," Yashimi answered, "After Mallen dealt a few insulting words with the humanoid ghost, the boy saw fit to disable him. After about a second the boy had the Sergeant on the ground."

"Still in his suit?" Suzuki asked, giving Mallen a questioning glance, "He never told me about that."

"I thought it an unnecessary fact, sir," Mallen stood up, "And I wouldn't quite call the few words I spoke with the boy insults, sir. I just found it a bit hard to believe that the boy was who he'd claimed he was."

"Sit down, Yashimi," He told the Lieutenant. He turned back to the Sergeant and asked, "So you doubted that the boy was who he claimed he was?"

"Yes sir," Mallen replied.

"Even though he looked like who he claimed to be," Suzuki stated, more so than asked.

"In everything I've seen, sir, the entity who this boy claims to be was a good deal larger than him."

"And you're telling me you don't know that the media tends to exaggerate things?" Suzuki asked mockingly.

"Not at all sir," Mallen replied, though a bit more hesitantly than before, "I simply did not believe him."

"After he thwarted you, Sergeant, did you still not believe him?" Suzuki punched his question home.

"No sir," Mallen almost hissed.

"After you had thwarted Sgnt. Mallen over here, what happened?" this time he turned to Tir, much to everyone's surprise. Mallen seemed to have a slight grin on his face, anticipating a lie

"The other two officers pointed their own guns at me, sir," he answered with only slight hesitation.

"Did you at all threaten them when they did this?" Suzuki asked.

"Yes sir," Tir answered. Mallen seemed surprised that Tir had told the truth, instead of some sort of falsehood.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"In summary I threatened the Sgnt's life if they didn't lower theirweapons," he replied.

"A risky business," Suzuki said thoughtfully, "What would you have done if they had called your bluff?"

"I would have most likely gone intangible and phased through their attacks, sir," Tir replied.

"Would you have actually attempted to take the Sgnt's life?"

"Only if my partners' lives were in grave danger if I did not do sosir," Tir replied. Mallen scoffed at this.

"A loyal teammate to the end, eh?" Suzuki asked, ignoring Mallen.

"They have both saved my life several times in the past, sir," Tir answered, looking the old man in the eye, "I would be far more than  
willing to do the same for them."

"That's the kind of attitude I like to hear from my subordinates," Suzuki grinned, exteending a hand to Tir's, "I'm just a little surprised I'm hearing it from you."

"Thank you, Suzuki-san," Tir answered, taking the colonel's hand and bowing.

"Okay, we've got the basic introductions over and done with," Suzuki-san said to the assembly, "And I'm not happy with what anyone here did as a course of action. But we'll just have to work with what we've got.

"What we have to work on is the present situation. Major, what's the deal on the stolen tech?"

"Well sir," Hanlin began, "the X-15 Arbiter, the stolen XCGF, is composed of a neurological hypo-duranium regenerative semi-solid  
substance with poly-angular gravitational detraction technology."

"Give it to me in english, Hanlin," Suzuki said patiently.

"The stolen suit responds to thought and feeds off the Alpha waves released from the brain. It is highly durable, being fireproof,  
pressure resistant, and so on. It can regenerate lost fragments of its substance, and it can manipulate its semi-solid form into various forms, such as simple or complex weapons, barriers, and so on.

"As well, it can fly without the use or extra weight of thrusters, and with that ability it can also "change" which way gravity is pulling on it and move in the opposite direction as that, although that option can be deactivated."

"Would these six have any chance against this thing in open combat?" Suzuki-san asked.

"It would seem unlikely sir," Hanlin said despairingly.

"Wait a minute," Tir spoke up. Turning to the Major he asked, "Would the culprit have any reason to come back here?"

"Not here," Hanlin answered, "But there are some other technologies in this field that work along the same lines. Most of them are  
located at JMBY 2, located on the southern tip of the Shikoku island."

"Excellent," Tir murmured. He then turned to the colonel and stated, "Colonel, I noticed that you have an ample supply of ghost suits in your hangar."

"You have an idea, son?" Suzuki-san asked curiously.

"I do, but it'll require skill, surprise, a bit of luck, and especially," he looked at the Sgnt. as he finished, "co-operation. Major, do you have some sort of tracking device on that tech?"

"Of course," he replied, "The only thing we hadn't installed was a fail-safe device, which I think would have eliminated this entire problem in the first place."

"Well, we'll just have to hope that ghost-boy will take the bait," Tir said.

"How do you know the culprit's a ghost?" Mallen asked suspiciously.

"Because, my comrade in arms, no one knows a ghost better than a ghost, eh?"

"So, who's in?" Tir asked. Almost everyone raised their hands. We waited for a second before the Sgnt. reluctantly raised his own.

"Well, I'm game," Suzuki-san said gratefully, "So let's hear this plan."

"With pleasure sir, but first I'm going to need the blueprints for that base..."

OOOOO

A dark form hovered overtop a broad, gradually sloping set of twin hills. "This is it. All I need is the technology here, and I will be invincible."

The dark form floated down through the rooms of the base until it came to a room that repelled it.

"Very well," it said patiently, "We can fix this in a hurry."

A minute later the ground shook throughout the base as a hundred tiny missiles slammed into the door of the room.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" the dark form asked.

"Wrong," three voices said a split second before the dark form was blasted backwards by a boatload of weapon's fire.

OOOOO

"Shiro to Yurei, commencing phase one," I whispered into my headset as I watched events unroll from the entrance to the hangar.

"Roger," Tir replied, "We're preparing for phase three down here. Try and hold him for at least another ten minutes."

"Done," I replied. Things were so far going according to plan. Snow, Yashimi and Mallen were to hold back Black Fist for the next few minutes whilst final phase was being prepared.

All they had to do was last for the next few minutes and everything would be good to go for phase two.

By that point they'd knocked Black Fist out into the base's training stadium, which was at least twice as big as JMBY 1's. Missiles, lasers and beam swords were everywhere.

Mallen was putting his suit's auto-drones to excellent use, using them as damaging distractions whilst he flickered by and struck Black Fist hit-and-run style.

Yashimi was putting the Praetor through its rounds. She wasconstantly shifting between suit mode, which allowed her more manueverability and speed, plus a greater selection of weapons, and her seige mode, which was more damaging, bombarding Black Fist with enormous blasts of energy, and the occasional flyby barrage of missiles and the suit's four-vicious beam sword.

But perhaps the most visually impressive of the three of them was Snow, and her expert handling of the Executor. She was a blur, and  
anything Black Fist aimed at her missed. Whatever residue didn't miss never even scratched her suit's armor.

The number she was doing on Black Fist with her missile/dual beam-sword combination was impressive, and she hadn't even drawn on  
the vast power of her suit's backpack yet.

But no matter how hard or how many times they struck Black Fist still wasn't very badly damaged. During a pause that lasted no more  
than a split second Black Fist regenerated entirely, then he was being throttled again by their weapons. Although he was moving faster than before.

More and more of their attacks were missing their target as he seemed to approach a frenzied speed. His own attacks, missiles, lasers and the like grew more accurate.

The Judicator, with a huge chunk removed from its side by Black Fist's huge red claws exposing the suit's inner lining, and a blow to the machine's head, the weapon was disabled. It was a fair drop to the ground below.

"Shiro to Yurei, we're implementing Phase Two: sub-phase one, over," I hissed over my headset.

"You're making good time. We've just completed preparation for phase three, and we're moving on to phase four now. Hold him for  
another few minutes longer," was the reply I was given.

Turning to Umbrus I said, "Okay boy, this is your moment to shine. Sic 'em!"

Without a backward glance Umbrus leapt into the air. Just as he was about to hit the floor below his paws ignited in green flames and he flew off with tremendous speed.

He whipped in behind Black Fist like a lighning bolt, tearing off a chunk of the back of his leg.

Black Fist howled with rage and fired numerous missiles at this new, furry threat.

Narrowly evading and phasing through the projectiles being thrown at him, Umbrus put his ghost power into action.

Opening his jaws wide he formed a huge set of glowing, shimmering metal jaws around Black Fist and bit down.

The "jaws of life" split Black Fist in half, and Umbrus kept on dealing damage to Black Fist in this way for a while, until Black Fist fired a laser blast at him from a severed hand, which Umbrus had to dodge.

Black Fist regenerated again and fired a random blast across the stadium. Unfortunately, Yashimi's machine, the Praetor, was caught by the blast and had several holes punched through its upper torso. It landed with a bit more control than the Judicator had, but it was still not very helpful after that.

"Yurei to Shiro, we're implementing phase two: sub-phase two. I'd say you've got about ten, fifteen minutes left tops," I hissed as I prepared my equipment for battle, leaving behind my ghost sniper, since I wouldn't be needing it.

"Roger, we're just finishing with final phase now, and we'll be in position in about ten minutes," Tir answered, "Hold him as long as you can, Shiro."

Breaking connection with Tir I switched frequencies and commanded, "All weapon systems target possessed ghost suit X-15 Arbiter, also known as Black Fist. Fire preliminary shot at three seconds after take off, then fire at any opportunity."

I readied myself for take-off, a hand on my sword hilt. I threw myself over the edge of the hangar entrance, and about a second after take-off I felt guidance systems and propulsion activate, as I shot towards my target.

Just as I came within twenty feet of Black Fist my ectosnet system went off, firing missiles and ghost nets at him with tremendous speed. He was bound tight within a split second, which was when my railguns went off.

Huge searing trenches cut deep into the suit's flesh as my missiles bombarded it. Then I whipped out my sword and struck Black Fist  
across the back like a cobra.

In a split second I checked my visor and scanned Black Fist for any weakpoints. Finding one, I aimed for the base of Black Fist's right  
arm and thrust my sword into it.

Black Fist howled in pain, then tailed me as I retreated with a small set of missiles.

Switching on my headset I switched frequencies until I whispered and fought Black Fist simultaneously, "Corporal Snow, I'm sending you these coordinates on the Arbiter's and Black Fist's exterior and interior weakpoints now. Try and aim for them when you attack."

There was a brief pause before a tense, "Roger that," echoed back across the wave length.

Before I could relay the information to Umbrus, however, Black Fist caught him a vicious blow with a three-way missile attack. The faithful canine fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Shiro to Yurei, implementing phase two: sub-phase three," which was in short saying that there were only two of us still able to fight.

"What think we raise the stakes, sister?" I howled as we charged Black Fist.

"YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!" Snow roared over the headset, yelling loud enough to deafen a jumbo jet.

The backpack her suit wielded burst to life. I came in hard and fast on Black Fist, slashing him across the abdomen, whilst Snow roared close behind me, ripping Black Fist to pieces with the enormous swords her backpack deployed.

"I'll hold him down for a minute while you get down there for next phase, kiddo," she roared over her headset, "Yyyyyyyyeeeeeeehhhhhhaaaaaa! Bring it on, Black Boy!"

If it weren't for the tense situation I would have deeply admiredthat woman at that moment. She was a queen of battle, a warriorprincess, a berserker in the extreme. Somehow I knew that she'd hold out until the bitter end if she had to.

I returned to the hangar entrance and waited for Black Fist to overwhelm her.

For the longest time she held him back, blasting him with everything her suit could dish out. Missiles, lasers, enormous plasma beams and hundreds of thousands of bullets raged from her machine in a tempest, pumping Black Fist full of their energy and wrath.

After a time the bullets, and later still the missiles ran out, and she was left with laser fire.

Black Fist, though he was still hit and thrown back many times, worked his way closer, until he was close enough to zip by and take a chunk out of the backpack. Since he struck what was mostly a missile-laucher section, it fell away without reducing the Executor's firing speed any further.

However, he did manage to momentarily weaken the backpack, and he took another, more lethal swipe at it. This time he took out two of the backpack's nine laser points.

He was blasted again, then he took out another three lasers, then another two. He was knocked back once more before he took out the  
last of the lasers.

"Bring it on, you slimy pile of mud!" I could hear snow bellowing from inside her suit. I certainly didn't need a headset to tell me what she was saying.

She just totally flipped out on Black Fist. Since they were gripped by her suit's hands, Snow could actually use the twin giant  
beam-swords like katars, as both ideal thrusting and slashing weapons.

Unfortunately, After a few hits Black Fist was able to remove those as well.

Then she resorted to her hip-sheathed beam swords, and she really took over.

Black Fist blocked one sword with both hands, while the other thrust through his abdomen and the Executor's left foot came swiftly around and nailed Black Fist in the head.

Boy, if I had thought she was fast before, Snow was little more than a blip in my eyes as she flew at Black Fist, hurtling at him like a rocket, slashing, thrusting, punching, kicking and beating him around like an old shoe. But, as was expected, just as I was beginning to suspect that we may not even need the next three or four phases, she made a tiny, yet crucial mistake.

As she retreated from one of her split-second attacks, Black Fist was somehow able to grab on to her machine by the ankle. With two  
quick slashes both sides and a chunk of the head of the Executor were gone.

She managed one more slash with her beam sword before her suit collapsed to the ground.

Almost without thinking I slammed my hand against the button on the side of the doorway. Guns galore folded out from the walls and fired on their target. Though these weren't at all like their counterparts back at the other base. These had not only been turned to their maximum damage, but these babies were juiced up by no fewer than three nuclear fission/fusion reactors deep within the bedrock. Either way, Black Fist was getting pummeled.

Unfortunately, even those guns couldn't hold him for anymore than a few minutes. As he wiped out the last of the guns I flew as fast as I could for the door down on the south side of the stadium.

I wasn't sure whether Tir was in position or not, I just ran. Soon as I hit the ground where Black Fist had first been knocked into the stadium I sprinted for the door.

Maybe one, two hundred feet away was his target. So was mine. As I approached the door I whipped around. Sure as is possible he was following.

"You have given me a good fight, human," he taunted, "Now let me pass."

"No," I answered flatly, setting off my weapon systems. Whether they hit him or not Black Fist was still gaining ground.

I drew my sword as he advanced on me. Three huge slashes across his chest was all I could do before he back-handed me into a wall.

He stepped into the room as I lost consciousness.

OOOOO

The Arbiter stepped into the FWR, or Fusion Weapons Room. There, sitting on an angled body table, was the technology he had been  
seeking.

Quickly he adjusted himself to the correct size for it, then slipped on a set of light blue gauntlets, greaves, a breastplateand a hoplite-style helmet.

"Ah, I can feel its power flowing through me," he murmured to himself, "The most advanced nano-ghost fusion technology in the world. This shall more than make up for the enormous drain on my energy during my battles so far."

"Indeed," I leveled the sniper, left in position by the girl, and fired it at the Arbiter.

The Arbiter howled in pain as sparks shot across its surface. After a few seconds the sparks died down. It turned to me and, with an almost enraged look in its eye it said, "Ah, the wee Major Hanlin finally grows a spine."

Then with one blow he knocked me into a wall. I lost consciousness a few seconds later, knowing that phase four had been completed.

OOOOO

"HUHUHUHUHAHAHAAAAH! I am invincible! No being can harm me!" Black Fist roared as he re-entered the stadium.

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" an enormous voice thundered through the stadium. Black Fist turned around just in time to take a severe  
blow to the head.

When he rose, he beheld an awesome sight. An enormous warrior, perhaps half a foot taller than Black Fist, stood before the crazed post-artificial being.

He appeared as a great white knight, covered in smooth, flawless armor. What wasn't white was a bright gold, including joints, and parts of the mouth and torso. His face, which lacked a nose and mouth, was gold, as were his knuckles and elbows. His eyes burned like twin topaz stars as he struck down his foe.

"A new ghost suit?" Black Fist asked with moderate surprise, forming claws on his hands, "Yet another mortal for me to destroy?"

"Not quite," the wearer of the suit replied, "And rest assured, you will destroy neither myself nor this suit."

"Who are ye who lies within?" Black Fist murmured, "I am Black Fist, the ghost of the first conscious computer program, created no more than three months ago, and terminated not much later. I have sought power and peace, and only now have I found one of them. Soon the other shall follow, and I will rule this world."

"I am Yurei Ninja," the white knight hissed back, "And I am your worst nightmare. Within the T-07 Specter.. I am your equal."

"Hardly," Black Fist charged like a bull, his now stocky frame pumping with energy. He slammed a clawed fist into Yurei's chest, knocking him back several feet, but not damaging him.

"PR armor. Impressive, no?" Yurei replied before he knotted his fists together and slammed them into Black Fist's jaw.

"Yes, but I doubt it can withstand a strong blade," Black Fist replied as he put an effort into making a sword from his own matter, "And I see you carry no weapons. This shall be all too easy."

He flew at Yurei, ramming his sword home in Yurei's side. Yureiresponded to this attack with a roar and a swift punch to Black Fist's face, ramming him back into the ground.

"You want to play hard ball?" Yurei asked as he extended a hand before him. To Black Fist's great surprise, he formed a huge katana  
from his own energy. "Let's dance, bozo."

To Black Fist's further surprise Yurei wielded a sheath in his other hand and charged. As Black Fist brought his sword up to meet the attack, Yurei's sheath flicked out and knocked the blade to one side. With a powerful downward stroke he struck Black Fist's left hand, parting it from him at the wrist. He then kicked out viciously, striking Black Fist in the chest, knocking him back a fair ways.

"How can this be?" Black Fist groaned as he held his stump. "Why can I not regenerate?"

"Did it not seem odd to you that the armor was heavier than you expected it to be?" Yurei asked, "That it sparked and sizzled and caused you pain when Hanlin nailed you with Shiro's ghost sniper, instead of a portal opening up and sending you back to the Ghost Zone?"

"What have you done to me?" Black Fist asked, forgetting all about his damaged limb. He picked up his sword in his remaining hand and  
started swinging it ferociously.

"Our whole plan was to get you here," Yurei answered as he parried and blocked Black Fist's strokes, "Your greed for that technology  
was your undoing. My teammates wore you down as much as they could and distracted you whilst Hanlin and I prepared that technology for you."

"You mean-?" Black Fist asked.

"Yes," Yurei answered, "We bugged it up perfectly. All we needed was something to trigger the viruses that we planted in that thing. A modified ghost sniper beam was perfect for the job. All we had to do was insert the last fragment of the virus's data into the beam."

"You've lost, Black Fist," Yurei said as he parried another blow, then thrust his sword through Black Fist's arm.

Black Fist punched Yurei with an armored fist, then released a huge blast of dark energy.

Yurei flicked out his sheath and plunged into the darkness, using the sheath to absorb the energy, whilst he increased the power output into his sword.

"Now let's take a page from your book," he murmured as his sword and sheath started glowing. Their shapes warped and twisted, until  
his sword had fully transformed into a magnificent spear, and his sheath into a round shield.

He rushed forward, slashing and striking through the darkness, though it tore cracks and fissures in his suit.

Black Fist saw this and focused his attack into a beam of energy. Yurei still plowed forward, until his spear plunged forward into Black Fist's chest.

"Unbelieveable," Black Fist said as he fell backwards, impaled upon Yurei's spear.

Yurei stood there, spear still thrusting, as the others came over. He barely heard a word of it, however.

He phased out of the suit and tried to fly off without a word. However, he stumbled and teetered slightly as he flew, until Ronnie came and help him fly home after she had returned Black Fist to the Ghost Zone.

Colonel Suzuki, as well as his men, were too busy to notice that the two heroes were gone. They were busy repairing their facilities, amid analysing the almost infinite new data they had received from their most recent encounter with ghosts. They would learn from this experience. Oh, how very much they would learn.

XXXXX

And so ends chapter 11, my longest chapter yet. And you probably won't find out about the next chapter for a week. A WEEK!  
HUHUHUHUHUHHAHAHAHAHAAAAH!

NOW REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! (slap!) I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I'll try and update soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: I don't own DP or any other TV show I've made a cultural reference to in past, or future, chapters.

After this chapter, the main plot behind "The First Portal" really gets under way, so I'd recommend reading and getting yourself as familiar with the facts as possible.

Also, There are a few third-person narrations in this chapter as well, and there may or may not be any in the next few chapters.

Try and imagine the main ghost with the voice of the Lava Monster from Samurai Jack.

Chapter 12 (Hunters and Hunted)

"Taka Somi," Sensei Yamata called out, "Second Kyu."

Kara, Tai, and myself had all tested for our chodan (black belts) less than a week ago. Now the results of that testing were being announced.

So far, he had announced all the kyu (coloured belt) testings, and was just announcing whether or not the five of us that had tested for black passed.

"We also had some youngsters," he glanced momentarily at us, "Test for their dan levels."

"Kara Nami," he barked. She stared for a moment, unsure of what to think until he said a heartbeat later, "chodan."

Her mystified stare immediately turned into a huge grin as she dashed up to the front, having bowed to sensei, then received her dan certificate and thanked him by shaking his hand, amid great applause. I never saw any of these events, but since I had tested before I knew the feeling of suspense and accomplishment.

"Tai Fenbutsu," he called. Tai's head snapped up as Yamata barked, "chodan."

Then Tai too went up and received his certificate. The next two that had tested, Gichin, who had tested for his nidan, or second black belt, and Shin Ashuka, who had, like us, tested for his chodan, had both failed their testings. By the time Shin had been informed of his failure I felt like a somewhat lost cause. The two successful students had already been announced, and while I was  
unbelievably happy for them, I still felt a bit lower on the totem pole than them. 

I think they felt the same way, because I could feel someone giving me almost shamed looks.

"And finally, Tirrell Morgan..." Sensei Yamata called.

"Osu?" I asked defeatedly.

He looked really hard at me for a second, then said, without changing his expression, "chodan."

It took me a second to register what he had just said, but my eyes bugged out and my face split into a huge smile as I strode confidently up to the front.

I felt like the happiest man alive when he handed me my official certificate.

As he handed it to me he whispered, "Good work. Come back in two or three years and we'll test you for your nidan."

"Osu," was my only response.

He then made a gesture with his hand and said, "You got a little lady and your friend there waiting for you. Class dismissed!"

I ran over to them. Both of them slapped me a high-five and Kara gave me a bone-crusher that nearly did crack a few ribs.

OOOOO 

"That was awesome!" I roared, leaping and jumping around like the happiest man on earth.

"Hey, you've earned it, lover boy," Ronnie taunted on our way home. Tai had some errands to run, so he congratulated me on my achievement, and I on his, and he left.

"Uh, Tir?" Kara asked. I noticed that she had been rather quiet during our walk home.

"Yes?" I asked in return.

"I'll leave you two alone," Ronnie said as she cut a corner and ditched us.

"Uh, you were saying?" I asked a bit nervously. I'd never seen or heard Kara act like this before, so I assumed that something must be up. But I never expected her answer to be what it was.

"My folks wanted to take me out to dinner on Friday to celebrate me getting my black belt, and they said I could bring someone along. Would you like to come?" she asked almost piteously.

For perhaps the first time in my life, my mind drew a blank. I didn't know what to do. I think a little voice in my head was telling me to throw myself over the nearest dumpster and run like a scared rabbit, but I tuned it out. 

"Uh, would this be anything along the lines of a date?" I asked after the longest of pauses.

"Noooo," she said quickly, "It's just a little celebration. So, will you come?" 

"Uh, sure," I answered, "I'll just check with my mom and see if it's alright, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," she called as she ran home.

OOOOO

"So lover boy has a date?" Ronnie teased as she wheedled the information out of me.

"It's not a date!" I hissed, "We're merely celebrating the attaining of our black belts." 

"Then why isn't Tai going with you?" Ronnie asked, finally thrusting me into a verbal corner.

She grinned, I sizzled. Then she waved the matter aside and said, "Now that that's out of the way, we need to focus on more important  
things." 

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean," she answered, skimming through an old notebook, "Like how you not only gained the use of your sword's sheath, but how you were able to transform both mediums into different things."

"Well, I can't help us there," I sighed, sitting down on the bed, "It just, happened, I guess."

"You guess?" she said as Umbrus rubbed himself up under her arm and tried to jam his nose into her armpit.

"Yeah, like a spur of the moment kind of thing. Something triggered it and it just happened," I chanced, "Although it would be cool if I could learn to control it."

"An interesting theory," she speculated, "And if what you've said is any indication, then it seems likely."

"Whatever you say, sis," I replied, trying to stifle a yawn, "But as for me, I'll be in bed, catching up on my sleep. 'Night."

OOOOO 

Just outside, no more than ten feet from Ronnie's window, a pair of emerald eyes shimmered ever so slightly in the dark.

A great form was perched on the branch of the tree, watching.

"My target is selected," a lone, deep voice rumbled quietly to the darkness.

OOOOO

"So you and Kara are going out on a date?" Tai asked seriously as I was getting the books out of my locker for second period.

"It's not a date! How many times do I have to tell you people?" I ranted.

"Hey, relax dude, I'm sure it's not a date," he soothed. I looked at him for a second before he continued, "You two are just going out to celebrate your- your- (Snort) hahahhahhhahhahhahahhha! I really had you there, didn't I? Man, I didn't think I'd be able to keep it up for that long. Hahahahahahahaahh! You two, not going on a date! Yeah, it makes me laugh! Hahhahahhahahaha! Oh Lord, make it stop! Hahahhahahah! I'm killing myself here!"

While Tai was still hooting and hollering his head off, I slammed my locker in his face and steamed off for my class.

OOOOO

I was sitting alone during lunch. Not because nobody else would sit with me. But because Ronnie and Tai would bug the hell out of me if I sat with them.

Ronnie had already cracked her "try not to steal second" line on me, and Tai just laughed his head off like an idiot, almost to the extent that I thought he'd inhaled a dosage of Smilex.

I could almost see them on the opposite side of the cafeteria, turning in my direction every few minutes and giggling like a couple of ninnies.

"Mind if I sit here?" Kara asked. I nodded, and she sat down on my right side.

"Why is it that people find the truth so hard to believe?" I just asked out of nowhere.

"They heard about Friday?" she guessed accurately. She had an annoying habit of doing that.

"Yeah," I answered indifferently, "Why can't they just believe that it's not a celebration, it's a date!"

I could feel Kara just staring at me, so after a momentary lapse in speech I asked, "I said that backwards, didn't I?"

"Yup," she replied, taking a bite of her lunch, which I guessed by the smell had been wisely home-made.

"So it's a date?" she asked as I got up to go. I stopped and just stared in her direction for a minute before she said, "Figure of speech. Sorry."

OOOOO

I have absolutely no idea how schools do it, but by the time school was over for the day, everyone knew that Kara and I were having dinner with her parents that Friday, which was no further away than the day after tomorrow. Some guys high-fived me in the halls, while others just laughed.

"Why are people bugging me worse than they're bugging you?" I asked Kara as we walked over to her house. She had a homework assignment, and I had some frustration to work through. 

"Well, it's mostly girls who bug girls about this sort of thing, and weirdly, they approve, that and they respect me enough not to say anything," she answered.

"What is there for them to approve of?" I asked.

"That's just how they think of it," she replied, "whether they respect me enough to keep their mouths shut or not, they still think that it's a date."

"Which it isn't," I answered.

"Of course," she answered, "Can you imagine what it would be like for you to be my boyfriend?" 

We both chuckled for a second. Then we stared at each other nervously, then laughed even harder, though it sounded kind of forced from both sides.

Just as the laughter died down my eyes went off. "Uh, can you excuse me?" I asked as I ran for cover.

I emerged from under a bench just as a huge eagle plummeted to earth, inches away from Kara.

Light blue in colour, with emerald eyes it shook itself off as it studied Kara.

A pair of shimmering sapphire-feathered wings extended from its shoulders, as a shimmering gold beak hooked out from its face.

Just as it started to circle around her I decided to intervene. I drew my sword, its black sheath in my opposite hand, and dropped on my foe like a rock.

Immediately it twisted around me, its thick talons slowly starting to crush me and its claws dug into the fabric of my suit.

Just as its jaws opened wide something small and white slammed into the side of its head.

While it was momentarily stunned I went intangible and slipped out of its grasp. Righting myself I turned to face the beast.

It had just recovered and was glaring at me savagely. We circled each other, like two rivals squaring off, winner take all. The bird twitched, and I swear my sword flickered as it charged. I whipped to one side and blasted it with my sword.

But instead of being struck by my sword its body twisted on a severe angle and narrowly evaded the stroke.

It landed in front of me, and opened its large mouth. Sparks shot from it as a small white orb formed. For a split second, we stared at each other, then the ghost ball contracted and fired right at me with tremendous speed.

I barely had time to raise my sheath before the ball struck. I was only just able to hold back the vicious blast, but it carved cracks into the ground behind me.

The beast glared at me momentarily, then flicked its tongue out and flew off. I stared after it for a moment.

As I turned around, every spark going through my grey matter died. I was lost for thought and words at the sight.

She was a blonde beauty! There wasn't a single flaw in that girl's form, clothes, hair or otherwise. Only her cool blue eyes told me that this was Kara.

"Uh, can I help you?" I asked awkwardly.

She just stared open-mouthed at me, until I phased into the ground, came up behind a dumpster, and changed back.

When I returned, Kara hadn't moved an inch. Her pupils were small, and there was some drool coming from her mouth.

"Uh, Kara? You're starting to drool," I commented as I waved a hand in front of her eyes.

She blinked a few times, then shook herself and shrieked hysterically, "Did you see that! That was totally nuts! And can you grab my shoe?" 

OOOOO

A dark form watched from a nearby building, observing Tir with sharp, experienced eyes.

"So, my target has surpassed our expectations, has he not?"

A large creature, sitting beside the dark form, nodded its assent.

"He shall indeed be most worthy of me. I shall enjoy this in great measure."

OOOOO

"So, where are you two going to be?" I asked as I donned a set of dress shirt and pants, and I looked fairly well groomed. Even Ronnie had to admit that I looked good.

"Ooh, there's just one thing you're missing," she replied as she dashed off to her room. She returned a short time later with something in her hand.

I looked in the mirror as I saw a tiny wooden cross on a black cord fall around my neck. "Just in case you need a little divine intervention," she said with a grin.

I was about to snarl a vicious riposte to her, but instead I smiled and said, "Thanks, sis. Now remember, the headset is turned off. I don't want any interruptions."

OOOOO 

Two forms watched through the window from the safety of a nearby tree, hidden from mortal eyes entirely.

"We strike soon, old friend. And we shall bring down this prey. Let us fly!" 

The two flew off into the night.

OOOOO

I knocked ever so slightly on the door. Once again my backbone had deserted me.

The door opened, and an enormous man ducked and stepped through the doorway. He was dark, as tall as a sasquatch, though not as hairy, and as broad as a bull. He certainly didn't seem fat, but he was  
extremely muscular, as his muscles bulged underneath his own dress shirt.

His momentarily chizelled features melted as soon as he clapped eyes on me. "You must be Tir! I'm Mr. Nami, and you'll be accompanying us tonight." 

"Pleased to meet you sir," I said nervously, shaking his extended hand, which easily enveloped mine, "It's my honor to be coming with you tonight."

"Now that's what I like to hear," he said enthusiastically, "By the way, do you ever watch MASH?"

"Every evening," I answered, lapsing into a more relaxing subject, "Long live Alan Alda, David Ogden Stiers, Harry Morgan and everyone else on the MASH crew!"

"Amen!" Mrs. Nami called as she descended the stairs. She had a heavier frame than many women, though she was by no means overweight. The red and black blouse-skirt combination she was wearing said everything. 

Then Kara descended the stairs. And my eyes nearly burned to cinders as they popped out of my head and my jaw dropped. She was wearing an elegant light blue skirt that extended almost to her knees, and a red blouse that looked _good_. She had a gold amulet with a sapphire stone around her neck, and emerald earrings shaped like perfect spheres.

Her hair was held back on one side with a barette, whilst the other side was left free, with a small lock just hanging over her left eye, giving her this strange appearance that seemed to me very interesting.

"How do I look, Tir?" she asked playfully.

"Like a million dollars," I answered. I watched the smile form on her face before I finished the joke, "Old and wrinkled."

Everyone laughed at my joke. Then we piled into their car and took off for the restaurant.

OOOOO

"When he least suspects us, old friend, we will strike..."

OOOOO

The food was delicious! The sushi was excellent, as were the various other delectibles on my plate. Even the soft-shelled crab tasted good! 

"Mmm, this is excellent," I grinned after I had finished eating.

"That's why we don't eat here often, so we appreciate the food more," Kara's mother explained.

I lapsed back into my digestion as we started talking about various things. School, food, karate, and so on. Kara's parents were all too happy to relate the news from Amity. Apparently ghost attacks were getting more common back home. There was a theory that some sort of mystery ghost was behind it.

It wasn't until we got onto the subject of the ghost attacks here that I started to get nervous. It wasn't that Kara's parents disliked Team Yurei, quite the opposite. It was just that Kara seemed very quiet through those proceedings.

After the conversation had died down, I asked, "Uh, Kara, can I talk to you outside for a second?"

She glanced up at her father, who gave a slight nod. As we got up and headed for the door he called, "Try to hold off on first until the third date, okay?"

I think we both blushed at that one as we slipped out the door. We sat on a bench nearby, staring off into the sky for a minute before I asked, "Is there something the matter?"

"Why do you say that?" she asked blankly, looking me in the eye.

"Well, you've been pretty quiet all evening. I just wondered if there was something up."

She looked at me very seriously. I could see a lot of pain in her eyes, as if she were fighting with something inside her.

"Everyone has their secrets, Tirrell," she answered, "You have secrets you don't want anyone to know, and I have secrets of the like." 

"Girl, you have no idea," I said as I folded my arms behind my head. I looked over at her, and I noticed that the dichotomy in her eyes had vanished, and seemed to have been replaced with guilt.

"Tir, I have to tell you..." just then something huge rammed into my side, knocking me off the bench. When I hit the ground I went intangible, transformed and ascended several feet from where I had landed.

The eagle was back, but this time it stood over Kara and snarled. Green slime oozed slowly from its beak as it spread it wings wide.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, rushing at the behemoth with all speed. It simply turned its head and fired an energy sphere at me. It caught me a glancing blow on one arm, and if not for that I may well have died. Either way the resulting explosion broke my arm. But other than that I was unhurt. 

The raptor turned back to Kara and calmly wrapped its talons around her waist, then beat its wings once and flew off. I think that Kara had been knocked out because she had barely twitched.

OOOOO 

Broken arm or not I took off after them, flying as fast as my body would allow. I was just catching up to them outside the forest where Ronnie and I practiced when a whoosh of something rocketed past my ears, then slammed into my back. I hit the ground a short time later.

As I raised myself to my knees the thing that had slammed into my back landed lightly in front of me.

He was garbed in dark brown fabric that ended at his forearms, and was replaced by bronze chain-mail. Thick, dark brown boots covered his feet, and he wore a set of pants and a leather fauld (or a form  
of leather or chain-mail armor that extends over the legs) that matched the dark brown of his torso.

A thick gray sash was wrapped around his waist, with a dagger thrust through it on the left side, and a pair of green and red bottles on the right. The only decorations he had were two bands of dark leather around the middle and ring fingers on his right hand.

His huge golden left eye glared at me from under a dull green hood and cloak, which hid his face. His other eye was a dull green, and shifted blankly in its socket.

"What do you want with her?" I asked as I got to my feet. My hand was on my swordhilt, ready to be drawn if necessary. 

"With the mortal? Don't be a fool," he said with a very slight lisp. He cast a scornful glance in Kara's direction and added, "It is you that I want."

"Me?" I asked, "What do you want with me?"

"You are a powerful hunter, and a worthy adversary. I have observed you for some time, learning of your movements and arts. And soon I shall claim your ashes as mine!" 

"Okay, dude," I said, drawing my katana, "Part of me is horrified at the idea of you wanting to kill me, and yet part of me is flattered."

"Enough! Now you die by the shaft of Meiyorn!" Before I could speak a great longbow formed out of thin air in Meiyorn's hand. An arrow formed in the centre of the bow, and as he pulled it back, I rushed  
as fast as I could to one side. The shaft just whistled past my ear and struck the ground behind me.

"For many years I have hunted across both worlds, seeking only the rarest and most elusive of prey."

My eyes flicked to the forest, thinking I could try and lose him there. He nodded before saying, "Good. I love it when my prey is willing to fight for its freedom. Flee into the forest, if you will."

I flew into the forest as he called after me, "I can track a falcon ghost on a stormy night, ninja. You shall be far simpler to follow. My mount, and most loyal friend Aile Garde could not elude me, and neither can you."

I flew as fast as ghostly possible before I stopped. Then an idea snapped into my head, and I flew off, deeper into the forest.

OOOOO

"His scent reaches deep into this forest," the hunter of hunters observed, "He has been here many times before. His old smell shall make it more difficult for me to follow him."

The hunter turned to his beast and said, "Watch the girl, but do not harm her. If the ninja attempts to double back on me and rescue her, kill him."

The beast, though somewhat disappointed, nodded its obediance to its master's request.

The hunter smiled to himself, then scratched the beast's head and praised it, "You have never yet failed me, Aile. I do not think you will fail me now."

With that the hunter turned and strode into the forest.

OOOOO

My plan was ready. I had only to wait before Meiyorn came after me. I just prayed that my hunch was right. Otherwise, I would surely lose this fight. 

OOOOO

The hunter trod quietly through the undergrowth, not making so much as a sound. He wielded no bow for the time being, as it would hinder his stealthy movements and give him away to his prey.

He had no powers of invisibility, nor did he need them. Under the right conditions he could vanish entirely from sight. He could even nullify the gold of his left eye to a dull green, to blend it better as well.

Every so often he would float from the ground, ever so slowly, to examine this trunk, or that branch.

Sometimes he would stick his hooded visage over the thickets and draw deep breaths, as if he could scent his prey like a dog.

He thought to himself, "This ninja knows his game well. Even with my mastery of wind-scent it is most difficult to track his fresh odor." The hunter smiled deeply to himself. He was enjoying this hunt greatly.

OOOOO

I clung upside-down to the trunk of a tree, poised to leap at the slightest instant. 

Meiyorn would soon come, I didn't doubt that. I had already tried to call for reinforcements from Ronnie, but I vividly remembered myself telling her to turn her headset off. Either way, my plan was set.

I just had to wait.

OOOOO

The hunter paused in a crouch. He could sense that his target was very near. His acute, experienced sense of smell, plus his hunting instinct, told him this. However, those senses did not tell him where his target was.

He flicked his golden eye closed, and concentrated all of his focus into his green eye. Most of the time it was dormant, totally useless to the hunter. But when he concentrated with it, he could see the faint auras that ghosts give off.

Slowly scanning back and forth with his eye he finally saw his target. Very slowly he formed his longbow in his hands, then selected an arrow from thin air.

Standing back ever so slightly he raised himself to his feet amd leveled the barbed shaft at his prey. Gripping the string of his bow he pulled it back as far as he could by the two leather bands on his fingers on his right hand.

Then, with his green eye still glimmering, he fired.

OOOOO

If it hadn't been for the fact that it was total silence I would have died. As it was I heard the arrow fire, and leapt from my perch in the nick of time.

Meiyorn's shaft thudded into the trunk of the tree where I had been clinging a split second before.

Turning visible again I flew down a thin trail off to my left. I approached a turn in the path, just as I implemented my plan.

OOOOO

The hunter followed his prey, sticking to the undergrowth, which is perhaps why he didn't see the huge log swinging towards him until the last second.

He whipped to one side, and just avoided being crushed. His arm was grazed, however, just under the shoulder. 

"Well done, my prize," he thought to himself as he once again stowed his bow.

He picked himself through the undergrowth, though with much more stealth and care than before.

It was this very same care that saved his after-life a second time, for his prey whistled through the brush with tremendous speed and would have finished him, had he not ducked.

OOOOO

My knees whizzed over his head, and would have finished him then and there, had he not ducked.

As it was I zipped by like a flash, then turned and brought my sword down in a vicious arc. White light screamed from its surface in a blazing flash of energy.

I thought for sure that Meiyorn was finished. I didn't think that even he could survive a point-blank blast. I was wrong.

As I turned I saw that he still stood as I had last seen him. However, this time he wielded in his hands his dagger and of the two small bottles on his right hip, he held the red one.

"You think it that easy, ninja?" he asked as he put away the bottle and dagger, drawing instead his bow from thin air.

"I have awakened my inner eye. I can see with one eye what you can  
with neither. You will never have the power to beat me, not without your eye."

Again a shaft formed in his fingers, ready to be fired.

My arm was in excruciating pain, almost to the extent that I couldn't hold it in.

I could feel my ghost powers failing, even as I fell to my knees. Then, just as I once again descended into darkness, my eyes felt like they'd just gone through a round with the "jaws of life."

My eyes flashed open. And I could see. I could see everything. And better yet, I could feel my body healing itself. My arm was already mended. I looked down and saw why.

A glowing green shaft was protruding from my heart. It suddenly dawned on me that I was in human form, and that the arrow, if it had been fired so much as a second earlier, would have killed me for sure.

Without so much as a twitch I removed the arrow. There was a small, dissolving hole where I had removed the arrow, which took no more than a few seconds for it to disappear.

I looked up. Meiyorn had lowered his weapon, though another arrow was already perched on his bow. But there was something different about him.

His whole body glowed and flickered with a dark, smouldering energy.

"How could you have withstood my shaft, mortal?" he glared after a few seconds, "My shaft is an arrow of darkness. There is no way you could have withstood it!"

"Meiyorn," I said calmly, transforming and drawing sheath and sword, "Your doom has come!" 

I could feel the bright white energy rising and flickering from me in waves.

My sword was vibrating and thrumming with an eerie light. Similar waves of energy that fell from me fell from it as well.

I looked to my sheath, and the only difference between the two was that the sheath flickered with dark energy. 

"Let's dance," I said, setting myself into a low stance. I could feel my energy flowing through my two media, and I could feel their's flowing through me.

Feeling a sudden rush of power, I sent a huge burst of energy through my weapons. Instead of them flaring up, as I had expected them to, they seemed to grow more focused.

After a second, they formed a pair of vicious katanas, each reflecting its opposite.

"No! You are mine!" Meiyorn roared, firing an arrow with vicious accuracy. Immediately, my black sword dissolved and formed a small shield. The shaft simply thudded into it.

"But how can your shield withstand my shafts? You are a ghost!"

"I am also human," I answered as both my swords formed deadly black rods with flaming white ends.

Almost in slow motion Meiyorn fired ten separate arrows, probably within the space of about three seconds.

Closing my eyes, I could "see" them. My left arm flicked up and intercepted the first. My right knocked aside the second with an angled swing, then it turned aside the third with a sideways sweep. 

Bringing both arms down I blocked the fourth, then I brought them up, out to both sides, then up over my head, blocking the rest of the ten arrows.

As Meiyorn prepared another volley, I formed my white weapon into a dagger. I threw it with all my strength, just as I had the day Dad gave me that dagger.

Although it missed Meiyorn it did cut his bowstring. He took one look at the white dagger reforming in my right hand, then at his now next to useless bow, and he ran.

I followed close behind, my black weapon forming a long haft, and my white weapon forming a harsh metal trident point.

We flew on for a long time, as I gradually gained on him. Just when I was close enough for a vicious thrust he barked, "Kill him!"

Without thinking I threw the trident at the glowing white orb flying towards me. There was a huge explosion, and my trident struck the ground below.

As I touched down it dissolved, then reformed in my hands as a vicious war scythe, with a keen curving blade about two feet long.

Aile came screeching from the sky. As I raised my arm to deflect the blast...

OOOOO

"Dichotomic fission is when a being separates the energies of light, and the energies of darkness that flow through it. Often, only one, either light energy or dark energy, can be used at a time, although they can,albeit very rarely, be used in tandem."

"For dichotomic fission to work, the light and dark energies that are being separated must be exactly even. It is very rarely that any being can do this. A living being is often more light than darkness, and a post-living being is the reverse. One would have to be both in order to perform it."

"This being impossible..." 

OOOOO

Aile's enormous talons raked viciously against my shield as his wings tried to batter me to the ground.

As I thrust forwards, I felt his talons grip the edges of my shield. His huge beak arced through the air, intent on tearing my head to pieces. 

My fist shot up, now in the form of a white gauntlet with black knuckles. There was a loud "clang" and my hand hurt as the impact reverberated through it several times. I almost hated to imagine the vibrations that must have been going through Aile's head.

As Aile was knocked back, then came in for another dive, I charged towards him. Knuckles met beak as we swung around and came in for another clash.

We repeated that process several times before I took Aile's full weight on my left arm. My arm vibrated with pain, but my other arm flicked out and struck Aile in the back. My left hand then grasped him around the beak and I threw him to the ground below. He bounced once, then lay motionless.

As I landed before Aile, my sword and sheath returned to their normal forms, I spread my hands wide, ready to banish him back into the Ghost Zone.

Just as I was forming the word on my tongue, a familiar voice spoke to me. The voice didn't frighten me at all. It was what the voice said that chilled the marrow in my bones.

"What is the price of a life?"

I turned around, and just stared. I had felt fear like this only once before. Just once. And a great portion of me had died that night.

Meiyorn stood before me, his mouth pressed into a firm line. Regret outlined his every feature as he held his knife to Kara's throat. She was still unconscious, lying at Meiyorn's mercy.

"I have hunted across lands that you cannot imagine, capturing and defeating more creatures, people and ghosts than you can fathom."

The line of a mouth on his face pressed even thinner as he said, "But I have never once taken a life. Not like this. I do not want to start now, ninja, but I will do it in a second if you try that again."

"You can't harm her with that blade, Meiyorn," I said, turning back to Aile as I said, "She's mortal."

"Ash, mixed with blood, can cause a ghost weapon to deal harm to humans," he answered flatly, "What do you think is in that red vial on my sash?"

I turned back to him as he said, "You cannot take the chance, ninja. So answer me this. Is the price of her life less than his after-life?"

My reply was this: "Is yours?"

Just then, a green beam struck Meiyorn. He doubled over as someone in a grey suit, very similar to Ronnie's, landed behind him.

The person in the suit was definitely not slight of frame. Whoever it was, they were quite heavily set.

Aile, drawn out of his stun by the noise, flew at the person in the grey suit.

Whoever it was, they were well equipped, because they wielded, as best I could identify them, smaller versions of the Fenton Ghost Grabbers, which knocked back Aile a fair ways.

"Are we late to the party?" Ronnie herself asked as she landed perfectly in front of me, as Umbrus landed beside her, then trotted up to me and started sniffing me from worry and licking my face.

Massaging my sore arm as I tried to fight Umbrus off I answered, "Just a tiny bit. So, come to think of it, how did you three know to get here at all? And by the way, what's with the muscle?"

"You don't recognize him?" Ronnie asked as our brawny companion knocked Aile around like an old shoe.

"Hmm.. let me think.. I may have seen him in the Phantom Menace..."

"Ha ha, lover boy," she answered with her usual cheery sarcasm, "So are you gonna bag ranger boy over there, or should I?"

I turned to Meiyorn, lying there on the ground, unconscious. "Wait," was all that I said for a few moments.

When Aile had been brought down, and lay beside his master, I shook Meiyorn until he awoke.

I stared him in the eye for a long time. Then it dawned on me that even at this range I couldn't see his face.

"So, ninja," he almost spat the words, "What are you going to do with us now?"

"I have defended this place from powers greater than you can imagine, and defeated foes that you cannot fathom."

The scowl on his face lifted ever so slightly as I finished my vaguely-modified quote, "But I have never once taken a life, or ended an after-life. I do not intend to start now."

I didn't tell him what I was going to do, but I think that he did understand a bit.

He answered me with a simple nod. Within a minute, he, as well as his beast, were back in the Ghost Zone, and we were on our way home. 

OOOOO

Just as we stopped outside mine and Ronnie's house I turned to the guy in the grey suit and asked, "Seriously, though, who the hell are you?"

The guy hesitated a moment, then reached up and started peeling back his mask. My jaw dropped as I saw who it was.

"Tai?" I gaped.

He then turned to Ronnie and said, "two hundred yin," as he flipped her the money, "I honestly didn't think he would be this surprised." 

"Well, I've known him a long time," she grinned maliciously as she pocketed the money. She then turned to me and said, "Please tell me you aren't that surprised. I made the bet and even I didn't think you'd be this surprised."

"Uh! Oh! Ohohohouhuuuh!" I stammered as my eyes bugged out and I started shifting my index fingers between Ronnie and Tai.

I was at it a few minutes before Ronnie slapped me across the face. "Thanks," I said as I looked at Tai.  
"So, what's your secret identity?" 

"The Grey Ghost, or Haiiro-Kun Yurei, " he said without hesitation.

"I swear I've heard that somewhere before," I mused for a second before I extended my hand to the newest member of Team Yurei.

"Welcome to the team," I said after he took my hand and shook it, "The t-shirts'll be in on Tuesday." 

"Why do I feel like we've forgotten something," I said, as a strange nagging feeling started gnawing into my subconscious. 

"Uh, lover boy..." Ronnie said, waving a hand in my face. 

Then it hit me like a slap across the face with a rat's tail.

"I'll be a few minutes," I said as I leapt into the air and soared off.

OOOOO

I shook her gently, trying to wake her from unconsciousness. For a second her eyes fluttered, then opened fully.

"Tir?" she asked dazedly, "What happened?"

"It should come back to ya in a few seconds," I said confidently. My statement was followed about four seconds later by an unearthly shriek.

I could barely even move as she flung her arms around my neck and cried, "I was so scared. Both times that thing looked at me I had this huge chill going down my spine, as if it were going to kill me."

I stood up and tried to steady her with one arm. "It's gone now, Kara. It's not going to hurt you... ever."

"Now can I give you a helping hand home?" I asked. She smiled a bit, then nodded.

XXXXX

How's that for a chapter? And if you think this one's good, my last few are going to be even better.

I think there are going to be another five or six chapters after this one, plus an epilogue, just so everybody knows.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's note: I don't own DP, or any of the shows or games that I've quoted, used their ideas, or made cultural references to. Wish I did. Don't.

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews of chapter 12 (and 11 for those of you I missed).

darkflame1516- Yes actually, I do study the martial arts. I've been in Shotokan karate for over five years now, and my black belt is hopefully about three months away. As for the "not a date" thing, I've noticed how people keep on thnking that Danny and Sam are a couple, so I figured it just wouldn't be a DP fic without it.

nooneluvsme- yes, spinny chairs are fun. We all know it, but only a few of us show it.

enigmatic penguin- Actually, I wasn't quite thinking along the lines of a Japanese "Skulker," but just that I figured Tir needed somebody to be hunting for his head. Thus Meiyorn came into being. And what's with the personified homicidal biting mushrooms. You know, that could be the name of a band, the "Personified Homicidal Biting Mushrooms", or PHBF for short. And yes, I do know that I have at least a few devoted fans out there.

the sleep warrior- No, you didn't miss anything. Although that does get explained later on. I think in chapter sixteen. For those of you that crave action, this chapter might be less than interesting to you. Either way, there is going to be less action than there has been in previous chapters, although this is the first chapter that really starts leading towards the climactic battle.

P.S.- I won't update my fanfic untilI get five or morereviews, so if you want to see chapter fourteen any time soon, email them like crazy and tell them to get on with it. The same goes for the chapters after this, so everybody knows.

By the way, about the sequel, I estimate that it'll be out around February, somewheres around there, so everybody knows. I'll just take a break from fanfics for a few weeks. That said, read on.

Chapter 13 (Phase One: The Dark Lord Extends His Hand)

"INUHI," a deep voice rumbled from the darkness, "STEP FORWARD."

"YES MASTER," the hound of the sun responded immediately. "IN LIGHT OF CURRENT EVENTS, I AM WILLING TO SPARE YOU PUNISHMENT, ON ONE CONDITION," the voice rumbled.

"YES?" Inuhi asked, his voice dwarfed by the enormous presence before him. "I WANT YOU TO DELIVER A MESSAGE."

"WHAT SHALL I SAY, MASTER?" Inuhi asked.

"I WAS GETTING TO THAT," the voice replied, "IT SHALL SAY- NOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"I'M AVERTING MY EYES, OH MASTER," Inuhi said humbly.

"WELL DON'T!" the voice roared. Once Inuhi had obeyed he said, "NOW, HERE IS MY MESSAGE..."

OOOOO

"Now we take the answer and multiply x by it..." my math teacher droned on, obviously too preoccupied with his lesson to realize that no one was payng attention, and half of the people in the room had lost consciousness. A few were even beginning to snore.

I tuned it all out. Even after a solid month I still couldn't get over the fact that my sight had been restored. To heck with restored, it had been perfected. Meiyorn's arrows were worth more than their weight in solid gold. I could see the individual flakes of dandruff coming off my math teacher's head, and I was sitting in the back. I could see Umbrus's ecto-fleas, which can be easily removed with a simple spray of _Fenton Ecto-Flea Spray_. And somehow I'd still retained my innate skill in karate. Kara and Tai were my only equals in class, and that list only grew by one person out of class.

Mom was overjoyed, and the doctor's glasses dropped into his coffee when he heard about it! Mom was so happy that I'd gotten my sight back that she forgot to chew me out about the whole ghost ordeal.

Right at that moment, however, I was visualizing the coolest ghost suit ever imagined. It was like the T-07 Specter, but it had a few key differences. For example... Suddenly, a piece of paper hit me in the side of the head. Forgetting my boyish fantasy, I pocketed the note, then held it against my hand and read it.

"_Sorry about the fact that we never celebrated our successful chodan tests. That whole ghost business got pretty dicey. Anyway, my folks are going out tomorrow, so I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner or something_."

I flicked my eyes around the room, until my eyes rested on Kara. When she realized that I was looking at her, she blushed slightly. I thought on this for a second, then mouthed the number "six."

Her face was consumed by a deep shade of red, and what could be interpreted as an outraged snarl. Realizing what she had thought I meant, I myself blushed in turn, then pointed to my watch and mouthed it a second time. Her snarl vanished, she blushed even deeper, and grinned.

The moment was broken when Mr. Hashimi called from the front, "Miss Nami! If you would be so kind as to break eye contact with Morgan-san for a split second and give me the answer for example three, I would deeply appreciate it!"

The class was in such a deep state of torpor that it took them about five seconds to respond to what had just been said.

Every last one of them just turned and stared at us. Tai just gave us a fleeting glance, then chuckled. He didn't even turn around in his seat.

OOOOO

"So lover boy has a date," Ronnie taunted as she sat down at our usual spot.

Only to surprise her I answered, "Oh yeah! The T-Man has 'da power with the ladies!" My hunch was correct. She stood there, momentarily slack-jawed as I continued, "Although I think there's still a slight ringing in my ears from the class's clapping, whistles, and other cheers. Uh, Ronnie, you're drooling again."

She shook herself from her daze and riposted, "Well, since I have a date tomorrow as well, I think I can afford you some privacy."

"Meaning..." I edged. "No spying, no prank-pulling, and no gross-out stories about your past," she sighed.

"Exactly," I answered. I then narrowed my eyes and inquired, "Wait a minute. What gross-out stories concerning my past?"

"Pudding incident!" she hissed.

"Aaaaaahhhh! No! I get your point! Just make it stop!" I cringed. She was laughing as she left the cafeteria. "So.. much.. brown!.."

OOOOO

"So Tir, when does your date start?" Tai asked.

"Six o'clock, tomorrow evening," I said as we walked home. Ronnie was taking a different, much longer route, so as some guy named "Kopai" or Ko for short, could walk her home.

"I just hope I don't mess everything up."

"You'll do fine," Tai soothed, "You played it cool last time, so why not now?"

"That's not what I meant Tai," I answered. He closed his mouth as I continued, "Kara's a really good friend. We've gotten to be pretty good friends over the last few months, and I don't want to lose that if we were to break up."

"Well man," he said as we came up to my house, "I can't help you there. If I was any good with women I'd be able to keep one for more than a week."

"Hey dude, don't sweat it," I answered, slapping a hand on his shoulder, "You'll find the right one. It might just take a lot of trial and error."

"It might take the same for you," he said as he walked off, while I stopped just outside my driveway, "See ya!"

"Sayoonara!" I called back. My call was momentarily interrupted as a huge ball of fire slammed into the ground behind me. Instinctively transforming as I turned around, I was confronted with Inuhi.

"Back for more, are we?" I asked.

"NOT THIS TIME, WHELP," Inuhi grimaced, "AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO DISEMBOWEL YOU FOR STEALING MY LAST-BORN, I HAVE OTHER ORDERS."

"Orders from whom?" I asked, then added, "Oh, and just for the record, Umbrus joined us by his own choice."

"THAT IS NOT THE POINT BEHIND MY VISIT, WHELP," Inuhi growled, "I HAVE COME BY ORDERS OF-"

Just then a ball of white fur slammed into Inuhi's side, ripping and tearing at his fur. "Umbrus, back!" I roared as I muttered the incantation that sent Inuhi back to the Ghost Zone.

_What could he have been trying to tell me?_ I asked as I walked inside. I would have just loved to have heard it from him, but after Umbrus assaulted him, I didn't think that he'd be in a talking mood.

OOOOO

"I MUST DELIVER MASTER'S MESSAGE," Inuhi rumbled to himself as he traveled back to the inter-dimensional Ghost Portal.

"THE HARDEST PART WILL BE FINDING THE WHELP."

"IT WAS JUST CHANCE THAT HE WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF THAT TOTALLY RANDOM HOUSE THAT WAS IN NO WAY RELATED TO HIM!"

OOOOO

"So Tai," I asked the following morning, "Did you get that math homework done?"

"Yeah, but that was only because I paid attention in Mr. Hashimi's class longer than ever before."

"How long was that?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"About five minutes," he grinned. He then changed the subject and said, "So, you have everything straightened out for tonight?"

"Yeah, but my mind is on other things," I answered. He and Ronnie showed momentary astonishment as I explained, "Remember that message I told you about yesterday that Inuhi almost delivered?"

My eyes went off as Tai said, "Hold that thought. We have a bogie." About five seconds later, Inuhi crashed into the ground again. I transformed, and the other two were in uniform by the time we could identify him.

"NOW WHERE WERE WE LAST-"

"Fire!" Ronnie interrupted as she blasted him back into the Ghost Zone. I just glared at her for a second before she laughed awkwardly and asked, "Oh, was I not supposed to do that? Ha ha, yeah, funny how I'm always a bit trigger happy, huh? Well, time for school, bye!"

OOOOO

"CURSES! I FINALLY GET BACK TO JAPAN, AND ONCE AGAIN BY SHEER DUMB LUCK I FIND THE WHELP RIGHT AFTER I LAND, ONLY TO BE BLASTED BACK HERE AFTER ABOUT FIVE SECONDS OF EYE-CONTACT!"

"I NEED A TRAVEL AGENT..."

OOOOO

"Great, just great," I murmured to myself as I sat in the cafeteria, eating a raisin bagel. Who eats raisin bagels, anyway!"The second time he had the opportunity to relay that message, and he's back in the Ghost Zone in about five seconds."

"Who's where in about five seconds?" Kara asked as she sat down beside me.

I stuttered for a moment before I said, "If need be I'd run from my place to yours in about five seconds."

"Whatever you say, Flash," she replied slyly as she dug into her chocolate pudding cup. I cringed ever so slightly, then resumed eating my bagel. "So we're cool for tonight?"

"Let's see. No karate, no boring history seminar with mom's colleagues, no ghost-fighting, no-"

"Whoa, back up," she interrupted me, "Did you say ghost-fighting?"

"Uh, no. I said.. grease-fighting! Which is convenient because it's mom's week to do it."

"Whatever. So, are you or aren't you?" she asked.

"Am I what?" I asked blankly.

"Are you good with it?"

"Good with what?"

"Tonight!"

"What's tonight?"

Our dinner!"

"Oh," I answered, "Obviously. It just momentarily slipped my mind."

She maintained her stare, which had this weird way of penetrating my defenses and skipping right to the point. "Yes, I'm good for tonight."

"Good. So am I."

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"Would I be asking if I wasn't?"

"What are you asking?"

"Didn't I just answer that?"

"What if you didn't?"

"Did it sound like I didn't?"

"Nah, I just like messing with you," I answered, grinning, "That and I wanted to see how long we could go answering questions with questions."

Her frown broke into a grin as she got up and left the room. As she turned back and gave me the "wave", a bunch of guys at another table gave me their thumbs-up. I returned immediately to my meal. It seemed a bit out of Kara's usual character, but this could work.

OOOOO

"You're kidding!" Ronnie said as she rifled through my closet. Her date didn't start for another hour, so she was helping me get ready. I'd already had a shower, and my hair was combed just so, so that was taken care of.

"Does this look like the face of a kidder?" I asked as I flashed her the most serious face I could muster.

"You mean to say that she gave you "the wave"? The wave? The one wave to end all cheesy waves?"

"Exactly," I answered, slipping on my white dress shirt.

"Well if "the wave" is any indication, then take that shirt off this minute," she said as she tugged on one sleeve. "You'll want something that doesn't totally clash with those slacks. And it's got to be a button-up."

"Why a button-up?" I asked, selecting a red button-up blazer from my dresser and trying it on.

"Because it looks- try the blue one- more classy, somehow more efforted. That and it's more accessible."

"Okay, I'll repress that memory," I murmured, slipping on my blue-and-black dragon dress shirt (the shirt's blue and black by the way, not the dragon). "By the way, we are keeping the ear-cells on at all times, correct?"

"Line 2, you got it," she said as she gave me a navy blue tie to try on, having been satisfied with my choice of shirt. She dumped that one and then reached for a blue tie. Just as she was securing it around my neck, I took hold of it and started to loosen it.

"Look, sis, Kara really isn't going to care too much what I'm wearing," I said as she started upbrating me for shooing off her help. "Besides, if I show up at her place overdressed she'll be creeped out, right?"

Ronnie noted this as a good point, then selected a brown leather belt with a brass buckle to go around my waist. Then with that done she gave me a pair of wicked-looking dark blue shoes, with grey socks to go under them, and a pocket watch that she described as "muy macho."

"There's just one thing missing..." she murmured to herself as she took a small purple box out from behind her back. On the box was written in gold, "For luck."

I opened the box and beheld a tiny, white jade rabbit's foot.

"Wow, thanks sis."

She took me by the shoulders, then licked her finger and wiped a bit of dirt off the side of my face. "Go get 'er, wildcat."

OOOOO

For some incredibly strange reason I didn't feel nearly so nervous as I had ever felt knocking on that door. Either way, what I saw when I was let in took my breath away.

Her shoes were smooth and slim, each a dark velvet heel with a blue stone just in front of the ankle, and around her right ankle she was wearing a gold anklet, studded with precious stones.

Her slimming red dress extended down to her ankles, with a long slit down each side. A black leather belt encircled her waist, slimming her waist further and accentuating every curve very, very well.

Her hands, while virtually untouched, still seemed softer and smoother than ever before as she took my hand and led me down the street. Ruby bracelets encircled each wrist, and on her left ring finger was a slim ring with a conical ruby on it.

Her arms and torso were covered by a thin grey jacket, to keep out the cold. On the left breast pocket was her name, written in red thread in Japanese characters.

Around her neck was a string of pearls, round, white and perfectly formed, each with a different Japanese character than the others.

Her hair had been combed until it shone, and on each side it was bound back by a small red barette. But what entranced me most about her appearance were her eyes.

They held an almost cool, channeled efficiency about them, as if they said, "We may be going out on a date, but you're going to have to really impress me for this relationship to work."

"Let's hit the buffet, big boy," she smiled, "I'm sorry to say it, but my mom just wouldn't let me where my cocktail dress on the first date."

I grinned mischievously as we turned the corner.

OOOOO

I think my jaw went totally slack the second I opened the door. From shoes to shirt he looked impressive.

Tir had never been a very heavy-set guy, but with that shirt on he somehow seemed larger than before, somehow more commanding. And the white jade rabbit's foot was a nice touch. Probably his sister's idea.

He had this look on his face that practically yelled "I can show you a good time, and I know it."

It made my heart tremble momentarily just to see it. As we turned the corner after leaving the house I broke the silence by saying, "Let's hit the buffet, big boy."

OOOOO

Dinner went by fast. Thank God!

From when I stepped in the door to the restaurant and, in an attempt to seem chivalrous, held the door for Kara, I got my pant leg stuck in the door and fell flat on my face. The whole restaurant never let me forget it.

Our orders got screwed up, Kara suffered from some incorrectly prepared garlic, and I think they would have served us pudding for dessert if we hadn't gotten up, left, I tripping over my own feet, again, and left a scornful twenty yentip on the table.

We then moved on to the movie theatre. We both got splashed by some idiot driving through a puddle, my popcorn must have been buttered with liquid salt, and after the doors closed we realized we were in the wrong movie and had to watch an hour and a half of "Dude, What was the License Plate of that Bus?"

Finally, we got to the park.

"Let's see," I muttered as we walked along the path, "The sky looks clear and star-filled, the moon is shining, muggers aren't really an issue," and I added in a whisper as we rounded a corner, "And there's my sister awarding her boyfriend second base, let's turn around now!"

You could not have gotten me away from there fast enough, I assure you.

OOOOO

We found a bench further into the park and sat down, staring up at the starry sky over head. After a while I could vaguely feel something pressing up against my side.

I looked down and saw Kara's shoulder against my side, while her head was just leaning down onto my chest. It was at that point that I realized that she had taken off her jacket. That dress definitely captured her figure. I also noticed that she had a bronze dragon armband on her left arm.

Realizing that she had removed her jacket I slowly reached my right arm down until it rested across her midriff. I then proceeded to pull her a bit closer, until her head rested gently on my lap.

A low groan escaped her throat as she slowly raised herself up and rubbed the top of her head against the left side of my jaw. I returned the gesture, rubbing my cheek gently against her hair.

"Look, Tir," she said after a long time. She stopped rubbing her head against mine, and her voice had acquired a grave tone to it, so I opened my eyes and asked, "Yes?"

Just then, a huge ball of flame descended from the night sky. Kara may not have had any idea what it was, but I knew, thanks to my jolted eyes. I turned around and saw that Kara had passed out, most likely from such a close strike.

For a girl that had her black belt, she really was fragile in the nerves department. I transformed before the dust surrounding Inuhi cleared. I turned off my earpiece. No one was going to screw this up.

Turning back around I asked, "So, now that there are no disruptions, no one to get in our way, nothing to cut you off at all, are you finally going to get your message across?"

"VERY WELL, WHELP," Inuhi growled savagely, "KNOW THAT THIS MESSAGE COMES NOT FROM MY MOUTH."

"Just get the heck on with it before you get cut off again," I whined, pawing at my sword hilt.

Ignoring my comment Inuhi continued, "UNDERSTAND THIS. FROM THIS DAY FORTH, ALL LANDS BENEATH THE SUN BELONG TO THE LORD OF ALL DARKNESS. TO DISOBEY MY MASTER MEANS DEATH, AND THE ENSLAVEMENT OF ALL HUMANITY."

The look on Inuhi's face was one of pure contempt as he said, "I KNOW NOT WHY HE SAYS THIS WHELP, BUT MY MASTER EXTENDS TO YOU AN INVITATION TO JOIN HIM, AS HE SO WISHES THE REST OF YOUR GHOSTLY ALLIES TO DO SO."

I took several steps forward, until Inuhi and I were standing nose to nose. I then grated in the most authoritative voice I could muster, "I don't make deals with tyrants."

"SO THEN YOUR ANSWER IS NO?" Inuhi asked with what could be interpreted as a hint of a smile on his face. I nodded once, and he said, "VERY WELL. THEN YOUR END COMES NOW."

With that said, Inuhi sat in front of me and let out a long, low howl. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the wind started to build, until the sky overhead grew dark with great black clouds.

The moon and the stars were concealed from sight. He paused briefly, glaring at me, before great flames erupted from his hide.

Sparks crackled and popped through the air as he howled again. But this sounded much different. It sounded like the hells themselves were resounding in his howl.

His voice grew, until it sounded like the great north wind could not rival it. It was as if, in the moment of silence that followed, small, muted gasps and cries filled the air. The screams of dead and tortured souls rippled through the air, until my ears couldn't stand it.

White wisps of steam and smoke started forming around Inuhi. The ground itself split, revealing the intense heat of its burning inner core. Soon the wisps of steam started to take form. White, flickering shapes appeared from the haze, forming claws, teeth, and vicious red eyes.

A huge pack of vicious white hounds stood snarling before me. Each was as sleek as a great cat, with the tapered snouts, strong jaws and blunt claws of a large dog. They each uttered the same ferocious snarl, grating their molars together as they bared their teeth at me.

"BEHOLD MY BROOD, WHELP," Inuhi snarled, "SEE HOW WELL YOU FARE AGAINST THEM."

Immediately my sword and sheath were in my hands, having assumed the forms of twin Egyptian-style axes, each about the length of my arm. I could feel my whole body extending into them as a huge rush of energy punched through my system. They rushed, swarming at me like a cloud of hornets.

I clove the first one in half, and he returned to steam, vanishing from sight. I could feel it through my weapon, however, that I had not finished him. I could feel every sweep of my blades, sheering through flesh, tendon and vaporous bone. My whole body felt "into it", as if I would sooner perish than give up the fight. That said, it came as no surprise that after a time I was relieved of one of my armaments.

I absorbed it back, instead deciding to merge it with the one I already wielded. The haft of my new weapon was black, whilst the blade, bound at its base and in the middle, was of a white metal, with its top end free for a vicious thrusting blow.

I found myself to be more effective with a single weapon than dual ones. With two hands I could hold onto it more readily, plus my strength and control were greater. Somehow, the blood had rushed to my head, and I went berserk. Black energy blasted from me like a furnace as bright red sparks crackled through my muscles.

"Come to me, spawn of darkness!" I roared, "Oblivion awaits! Meet the keen edge of my blade! Meet me and die again!"

An enormous blast lashed from my blade. Four huge furrows tore through the ground, annihilating everything in their path.

"The very wind of my blade thirsts! Give me your stagnant blood, creatures of shadow!" As my blade split the air, devastating everything. The ground, the air, even myself, burning my flesh deeply. But I was too far gone. In such a towering thirst for vengeance I could feel neither fear nor pain.

"Bring him to me!" I howled, "Bring me the Phantom! Bring me his head and his blood! Send him unto my wrath!"

As a last desperate attempt to stop me the creatures bounded together into an enormous beast, vicious and deadly. An enormous beam erupted from their mouth, burning and choking the air.

"Give me my vengeance, or bring the world crashing down! Death awaits all who pass beneath my blade! DDDDDDIIIIIIEEEEE!"

Our attacks met. Before the outcome had been decided, I leapt into the air, spinning myself horizontally as I brought my blade around in a fatal arc. With that stroke, it was all over.

I sheathed my weapons, then transformed back to my self. The insane thirst I'd had for revenge and blood was gone. In its place was an exhaustion more intense than can be imagined by mortal man.

I fell to my knees as my chest heaved and my head reeled. I'd never fought like that before, never with that intensity, that burning desire to kill, so why make itself known now? At first I didn't even notice that there was anyone else with me.

My head was still so full of junk that I never even noticed a calm, familiar voice ask, "Tir? Do you want to go home?" Kara had to repeat herself a second time before the message got through. Then the possible significance of events hit me.

I recoiled from her and, before she could say or do anything, asked, "Did you see?"

"Tir, it's late, and it's been a long day," she soothed, trying to put a hand gently on my shoulder.

"Did you see?" I asked again, this time a bit more shrilly.

"Tir, your exhausted. You shouldn't start working yourself up-"

Grabbing her by the arms and yanking her close, until we sat eye to eye I asked, this time more calmly, "Did... you... see?"

She gulped, then nodded slowly. For some reason this fact seemed to calm me down a bit. Just a bit.

"I won't tell anyone," she said quietly, "No person is going to get that secret from me." That said she took my hands and helped me to my feet. I wobbled momentarily as I tried to walk, at least until Kara took my shoulders and helped me to my house.

XXXXX

What a way to end the chapter, eh folks? And this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is where everything starts coming together, where the separate scraps of my story are woven into one. But I'm still not telling you anything! Huhhhahahhuhahuahauahuha!

By the way, for anyone wondering why Tir and Kara got together so fast, we all know that people have gotten together faster still. Plus, to some degree there is a reason behind it all.

Now if you would be so kind, REVIEW! I only have thirty-three reviews so far! I don't care if you tell me my story sucks out loud and then don't explain yourself! Just REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! (slap!)

I'm sorry about that little rant, but please review. If I get 5 or more reviews for this chapter, I'll update within the week. Otherwise, who knows when I'll update? Huhhauhuahauhauauahhauauahuahuahah!


	14. Chapter 14

Author's note: I don't own DP.

Things are going to start escalating in this chapter of the beginning of the unveiling. I'd like to thank the following for their reviews-

nooneluvsme- I'm not all that weird!

enigmatic penguin- Okay. (punching in number for local psychiatric ward) that's very interesting. And weird. I'll update again soon if _someone _(darkflame1516 and captain deoxys) and you three review this chapter.

the sleep warrior- I'll ust try and write them both to the best of my ability.

By the way, when Tir's main opponent in this chapter appears, try and imagine him with the voice of Daryn Norris (Ra/ the Spartan King from Samurai Jack, Bullet, Timmy Turner's dad He also does Cosmo, but don't imagine him with that voice).

If you liked the fight scenes of Chapters 11 and 13, and the vague romance of 13, plus a few other aspects in plot, then this one might push a few buttons with you.

That said, R&R!

Chapter 14 (Phase Two: His Generals Fly Forth on Wings of Wrath)

"THE MESSAGE HAS BEEN DELIVERED?" the dark voice rumbled from the darkness.

"Yes, Master," Inuhi called out into the abyss that extended before him, "And it was spurned by the whelp's harsh tongue."

"VERY WELL," the voice drummed, deep from within the depths of its labyrinth. "I HAD EXPECTED IT. HUMANS HAVE NEVER GIVEN IN TO DESPAIR SO EASILY."

Inuhi waited, as did the two other forms that waited at the entrance, and the third just outside the doorway. Their master was long in pondering his next move.

Finally his enormous voice boomed up from the depths and grated, "THE NEXT PHASE OF MY PLAN SHALL SOON COME INTO EFFECT. BUT FIRST, I MUST KNOW OF THIS "YUREI NINJA'S" SURROUNDINGS. I MUST KNOW HIS EVERY ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE."

"INUHI," the voice rumbled. Inuhi stood rigid as the voice said, "BRING THEM WITH YOU. THEY SHALL PROVE MOST USEFUL IN MAPPING OUR NEXT TACTIC."

The anger started coursing through Inuhi's system as he replied, "Very well, my lord. Your will shall be done." As Inuhi, offended at having to work with his so-called inferiors, and his back-up departed, the third presence stepped into the room.

"AH, MY RAVEN," the voice from the darkness called, "WHAT HAVE YOUR KEEN EYES SEEN?..."

OOOOO

"You know, dude, you can still back down," I warned as my mouth started to water.

"No way man, you back down before you hurt yourself," Tai shot back, tensing every muscle in his body, ready to begin.

"Annnnnd... Go!" Ronnie called, clicking down her stopwatch. And the clash of the world's fastest Subway-sandwich eaters began.

I tore into that sandwich like a wolf, sloshing it down my throat with the occasional gulp of water. Then, just as I was fininshing my last bite, "Time!"

I looked up, my last morsel frozen in my mouth, as Ronnie grabbed Tai by the wrist and declared him the winner.

I stood and shook his hand as I swallowed the last chunk of sandwich in my mouth, "Good match, though a second later and I would've won."

"True," Tai said back, "But it wasn't a second later, now was it?"

I gaped at him for a second before I started laughing. "No it wasn't," was all that I could manage to say. Tai wasn't often this loose

. "Now let's go home so we can figure out a few things about last week's unusual visit," Ronnie suggested.

"Oh, uh sorry," I answered, looking at my watch, "But Kara and I have a picnic to attend to, and then we have another movie tonight."

"Honestly, Tir," Ronnie sighed, rolling her eyes, "You two have gone out seven times in as many days. I swear that girl has you wrapped around her little finger."

"Don't be ridiculous," I assured her, "I'm going of my own free will."

"Whatever you say, lover boy," she replied as her and Tai headed for the door. "Oh, by the way," Ronnie called as she stuck her head back through the door for a second, "Try to refrain from stealing third until you've been dating for at least a month."

OOOOO

"This is a great view, isn't it?" Kara asked as we sat down on a hill overlooking town and watched the sun set. The sky almost looked as if it were on fire, with orange, gold and pink streaking the sky.

I looked over at her and said, "The view over here ain't too bad either."

She just kept unpacking the picnic basket and smiled as she replied, "Flattery will get you everywhere, Morgan-san."

We enjoyed a nice meal of ham sandwiches, with cheese, and a delicious salad, also with cheese.

"You know, considering its mid December," I said after we had finished our meal, "We should be pretty lucky that the snow hasn't fallen yet."

"Yes, we should count our blessings," she replied, sliding a bit closer to me.

"Let's see, there's you.." she rubbed her cheek against mine.

"There's this wonderful weather," she purred like a cat as I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"There's you.." she said again as she rubbed her head against my chest.

"There's my restored sight." I started running my fingers through her hair as she arched her back, sighing with pleasure.

"There's my moving here.." she whispered into my ear, bringing her backside up over my lap, to the point that she was sitting on me.

"There's you.." I whispered, slowly walking my fingers up the left side of her back. Just as I started moving them more towards her front did she reach a hand up and grab my hand by the wrist.

She then laid my hand on her leg as she chided me, "Not until the second month, short-stop."

"Well then," I grinned, rubbing her thigh ever so lightly, "I guess I'll-" I stopped as my eyes told all.

"What?" Kara asked, already knowing my answer but trying to deny it, "What is it?"

As she raised herself off my lap I answered, "Yep. Every time I'm about to get some."

As I got to my feet she planted a kiss on my cheek. All but one thought froze in my head, and I can't describe that thought, on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

"Well," She sighed, "Now you have some. Happy?"

I then transformed and replied, "Fantastic! When can I make another down payment?"

"How about tonight at the movie," she replied, flashing me "the wave" before she loped off towards town.

"Okay then," I said to myself, observing the sun's position in the sky, "That means about two hours to my next pay cheque. Now let's go bust us a ghost!"

OOOOO

Since it was the Saturday that Ronnie had her day off on, and Tai was in Tokyo to visit his dad, I decided I'd take care of this one alone. Well, not quite alone. Umbrus was with me.

When we got back into town, nothing seemed different. Suddenly my eyes jolted and Umbrus growled as his head whipped up towards the sky. I barely flew out of the way before a monstrous beast slammed into the ground to my left. Immediately my battleaxe was in my hands as a long, black armor-plated dragon with red eyes and silver horns, fangs and claws landed in front of me.

It regarded me with a long stare before Umbrus clawed at its face. It leapt towards me and snapped its neck to one side. Umbrus landed on my chest as the beast arched its back and roared.

"What do you want?" I asked, assuming a defensive stance.

"TRUTH," the beast replied, its voice not coming through my ears, but actually reverberating through my head. I whipped to one side as its head flew by. I brought my axe down heavily, severing its head from its body.

Its slitted pupils turned toward me momentarily as the base of its neck dissolved like wisps of cloud. It glowed momentarily, then its head was gone. To my surprise it reformed on the beast's neck.

I slashed at it, but the beast jerked its head back, then rammed it into my side. I was knocked back several feet, but I didn't fall. Umbrus slammed into the dragon like a lightning bolt, ramming his head into its side. The dragon stumbled, then lashed out at Umbrus with its claws and fangs. He ducked and wove away from the beast, and not too soon either.

Four huge blasts of energy rippled from my axe as I swung it viciously, hewing the air in front of my face. At first it looked as if my attack would find its mark. But just as the blasts closed, the dragon's front legs leapt from the ground, over the blasts. Almost like a twirled rope the rest of its body followed. It glared at me for a second, then as the blasts it had avoided released their intense energy, the beast glowed a bright white, then it was gone.

OOOOO

"Is it really necessary for us to see this movie?" I asked Kara as we slowly closed in on the ticket booth.

"Well look at it this way," she grinned, "If it was an interesting movie you might get a bit 'distracted'."

I stared off into space momentarily, then headed for the booth as I called over my shoulder, "You get the popcorn! And make mine a jumbo-size!"

"Which movie, sir?" the lady at the booth asked.

"Yes, uh, two for "Talk to the Hand" based on the book by Lynne Truss..."

OOOOO

The popcorn was smothered with butter. All I had with me to drink was a half litre of tap water because I hate the store-bought water (Honestly, that stuff is gross!), and the movie, while entertaining, was little more than a documentary on manners, and how the world today isn't using them. Although for the most part I wasn't focused on the movie.

We were seated in the back row, on top of the balcony, in the right corner. Perfect. Almost immediately, since there wasn't anyone else on the balcony, the armrests for about four seats in a row were pushed back. But that was about a half hour after the popcorn ran dry.

Kara, despite herself, actually seemed to be watching the movie when my hand slowly started creeping across the back of her seat. In a moment, my hand had cleared the other side of her seat. That was when my other hand came into action.

As slowly and stealthily as I could I lifted the armrest out of the way. My other arm then slowly squeezed inwards, until I heard a slight intake of breath as my hand came in contact with Kara's shoulder.

She turned to me, her eyes glowing in the darkness of the theatre. Then she kicked into action. With lightning speed she kicked up the armrests around us, then gently pushed me flat across the seats and laid down on top of me. Just as things started to get very interesting, my eyes went off. Curse those stupid ghosts! Why can't they just take evenings and weekends off like everyone else!

"Sorry," I said just as Kara's lips were no more than a few inches from mine, and my hands were getting a very good workout. She looked incredibly disappointed as she lifted herself off me and sat up in her seat. I sat up, then, trying to soften the blow, I gently kissed her on the cheek, saying, "I'll be back."

It seemed to help marginally, but she still looked really sad. Much as I hated to admit it I did have to leave, so I transformed and flew off out of the building without another word.

OOOOO

Switching my earpiece to Line 3 I called into it, "Umbrus! We've got ghosts!"

I heard a small bark of reply, then switched off the earpiece. A few minutes later Umbrus and I intercepted each other at the edge of town. After a moment he picked out the scent of the ghost and we were on our way with all speed. The scent led us to the forest where Ronnie and I practiced.

We plunged deep into the forest, deeper even than Meiyorn had hunted me. It was dark and gloomy, and the lack of leaves on the trees didn't help at all. Suddenly Umbrus changed direction, heading east, in the opposite direction to the setting sun. I followed closely. Suddenly my eyes jolted, and I hissed for Umbrus to stop. We walked the rest of the way, keeping ourselves intangible so as not to disturb anything on the ground or trees. After a while I could hear the distant rumbling of voices. As we approached a sizeable clearing I could see the sources of those voices.

One was the dragon we had fought earlier that day. The one standing beside him was a ninja, almost my double. He was a bit taller and more muscular, with his sword strapped across his back, and he was black instead of white, but other than that he appeared very similar to me. The final voice was that of Inuhi. He and the others were deep enough in conversation that they didn't notice us.

"THIS PLACE BEARS LITTLE THAT THE WHITE NINJA CAN USE TO HIS ADVANTAGE," the voice of the dragon echoed, "OUR ARMIES SHALL CRUSH HIM WITH UN-PARALLELED EASE."

"DO NOT BE SO SURE OF YOURSELF, SORRENTO," the ninja spoke in a low, raspy voice, "WE MUST TAKE NO CHANCES, LEST MASTER'S WRATH FALL ON US IF WE FAIL."

"A PRUDENT COURSE AS ALWAYS, NINJUTSA," Sorrento answered, "BUT SURELY THE LAND MUST HOLD FOR HIM SOME ADVANTAGE WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT.

"PERHAPS," Inuhi cut in, "WE SHOULD LET MY EXPERIENCE OF THE ENEMY'S TACTICS TAKE HOLD. I KNOW OF HIS WEAKNESSES."

"SUCH AS?" Sorrento cut in, his body rippling slightly as though I was seeing him through water.

"HE CAN HARM NO HUMAN," Inuhi said calmly.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?" Ninjutsa asked, his eyes constantly flickering around and around the clearing.

"BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THE WHELP IS HUMAN," Inuhi said bluntly, "THAT IN ITSELF IS A WEAKNESS. AND SINCE HE PROTECTS HUMANS, DOES IT NOT MAKE SENSE THAT HE SHOULD NOT WISH ONE OF THEM TO BE HARMED?"

My head was spinning with the weight of this development. They knew. They knew I was human. And somehow Inuhi, or some other ghost working for him had found out. Unintentionally I let out the tiniest groan. Barely more than a whisper. But it was far more than enough.

Even as I drew my sword and sheath Sorrento called, "YOU TWO RETREAT TO MASTER'S LAIR. I SHALL DEAL WITH THIS PESTILENCE."

As the other two left Umbrus and I tried to follow, but Sorrento blocked our way. "NOW," he said calmly, baring his fangs in a vicious grin, "WE SHALL SEE IF INUHI'S ASSESSMENT OF YOU IS AT ALL ACCURATE." I barely had time to form sword and shield before his enormous bulk slammed into me. In a split second I thrust my shield to one side and thrust my sword into his head. Sorrento roared with pain, then rammed his talons into my chest. I was knocked onto my back, and just as Sorrento flew down for the lethal stroke Umbrus slammed his jaws home, subtracting a hand from Sorrento's compliment.

As Sorrento crashed down on top of me, I thrust my sword skywards. An unearthly screech ripped from his throat as my blade punctured his throat. I thought that that was the end of it. Until Sorrento's outline faded and warped, to be replaced with that of a great knight. His huge body was covered in black armor, and his head was adorned with a great winged helm. His dark red eyes oozed rage. He was a ten foot juggernaut, armed and armored like a Philistine giant.

"NOW, WHELP," he grated as a sword sparked from his palm, "YOU SHALL DIE." Umbrus slammed into Sorrento's side, but Sorrento grasped him around the neck and slammed him into a tree. I was alone. "LET US MATCH BLADES, NINJA OF YUREI," he hissed as he threw me to one side.

Then I tried something I hadn't tried before. Holding sword and shield as one I transformed my dark weapon into the grip and hilt of my sword, while my weapon of light formed a vicious blade. It glowed with a tremendous light. He leapt into the air and came down with a ferocious cleaving stroke. I dropped onto my back and let his sword drive me backwards as I thrust my feet into his chest. There was no way I could face this guy in open combat, he was just too big. So I started using my size to my advantage. He thrust at me, and I turned aside his sword, then whirled in under his defense and stabbed my sword into the gap between his breastplate and his shoulder. He gasped, then swatted me aside like a fly.

I rolled, then stopped on my back as he came in for the killing stroke. I threw up my shield, and there was a loud ping as the point of his blade met my shield's central boss. Anywhere else and it might not have held him back. Either way I rolled back and kicked him over my head, as I had done earlier. He landed heavily a few feet away, and as I waited for him to get up I noticed a white mist starting to roll in.

"PERHAPS, WHELP," Sorrento admitted, rising to his feet, "YOU CAN MATCH ME ON FOOT, HAND-TO-HAND, BUT LET'S SEE YOU HANDLE A LITTLE CAVALRY ACTION." The mist started to solidify, then steam away as a great beast formed from it.

It was an enormous white horse, with six silver hooves and long white legs. Great fangs jutted from its upper jaw as its flaming green mane wavered in the moonlight. Huge muscles bulged underneath its hide as it leered at me, then snorted. Its master mounted it, then shifted his sword into an enormous war scythe. With a short whistle the beast reared, flailing its great hooves as it charged. I was ready, and raised my newly formed battleaxe over my head, then brought it down with one vicious stroke. My energy shot forward like a fiery bolt, destroying all in its path. I could actually see my attack ripping and tearing at Sorrento and his steed.

"IS THAT YOUR BEST, CHILD?" he asked as with a single stroke of his scythe he totally thwarted my attack. As his scythe came down on me for the fatal stroke, I ducked under it, and as Sorrento flew past, I whipped up and swept a wide arc with my blade, unleashing another blast of energy. He simply swept his scythe again, cancelling my blast. He came around and charged again, and just as his scythe swept down on me, I stepped towards him and grabbed the haft of his weapon. Sorrento hadn't expected the tactic, so his weapon was easily jerked from his hand. I simply made two huge strokes with my weapons.

Two huge blasts exploded from them, tearing the ground to shreds like the feet of a thousand wolves. Much to my surprise, Sorrento simply swept his hand, and the blast from his weapon disappeared, as did the scythe in my hand. He simply clenched his other hand into a fist, and, though I could see it buckling, he formed an energy shield that held back my blow.

"IMPRESSIVE, WHELP," he said as his warhorse snorted, "BUT AGAINST MY MASTER, THERE CAN BE NO VICTORY." With a vicious stroke he brought his sword down. There was a loud clang as our weapons collided. As I tried to fight back his sword his mount's head slammed into my chest, knocking me backwards. The beast shrieked with rage, then started slamming into me. Arms, legs, chest, back, almost no part of me could withstand that assault.

I hit the ground a while later, and as I blocked two of the beast's horrendous hooves with my shield, its other pair of hooves slammed into my stomach. "YOU HAVE OVERSTAYED YOUR TIME ON THIS WORLD," Sorrento warned, a war scythe once again gleaming lethally in his hands. "NOW GET AN AFTERLIFE."

Ronnie hit Sorrento like a rocket. Both him and his steed were knocked to one side. She ran to my side and asked, "Tir? Are you alright?" It was at that point that I noticed that she wasn't wearing her suit.

"You're out of uniform, sis," I grinned wryly.

"ENOUGH!" Sorrento glared as his war scythe shone in the moonlight. He charged, grabbing Ronnie by the back of her shirt and hefting her into his saddle. She struggled like an over-adored cat, but Sorrento kept a firm grip on her as he formed a dagger from his darkness. "SHE WILL BE FIRST, RUNT, AND VERY SOON YOU SHALL JOIN HER," he hissed as he raised the weapon over his head.

"No!" I roared, extending a hand as the weapon came down. I clamped my eyes shut, lest I see the murder of my own sister take place. Part of me went out to her, as if I could prevent this heinous crime from happening. About a second or two later I heard something thud into the earth a few feet in front of me. I opened my eyes, and saw the dagger that Sorrento had wielded in his hand. I turned, and there was Ronnie, still quite alive, held in place by Sorrento's enormous bulk. For a moment there was silence, then Sorrento grated, "ENOUGH! HER LIFE ENDS HERE!"

He brought up an enormous fist, and just as he brought it down I extended myself to Ronnie once more. This time I saw it leave my fingertips, thrumming and spinning like a hornet in a cyclone as it flew towards Sorrento'd clenched fist. He let out a surprised roar as my new-found weapon ripped his great armored fist to pieces and thudded into a tree behind him. A single, viciously sharp white shuriken, or throwing star, embedded itself in the trunk for a few seconds before it dissipated.

Snarling Sorrento ranted, "HOW CAN SUCH A SMALL THING DEAL ME SUCH HARM?" I focused my energy into my hands, then fired five shuriken at once. Sorrento and Ronnie were fortunate enough to get out of the way, but Sorrewnto's horse was not so lucky. It screeched in agony before it dissipated, sent back to the Ghost Zone in shreds.

"Ronnie! Run!" I called as Sorrento rose. He had shifted shape again, this time into a great lion. With a roar he leapt at me. I simply dashed to one side and nailed him with a pair of yureiken, as I called them.

"COWARD!" he roared as he shifted into a great bird, flying at me with talons extended, "YOU STRIKE FROM THE DARKNESS LIKE A SPINELESS SNAKE!" I laid a barrage of yureiken into his wings as I dashed by again.

"Though I may strike from the shadows, Sorrento, do not think that I am too afraid to step out into the light." In one hand I held my sword as it glowed faintly. Finally, Sorrento charged me outright, having resumed his knightly form. With all my strength I pounded a sledgehammer tattoo of yureiken into his armor.

"FACE ME, WHELP!" he roared as he brought his sword over his head for the killing stroke. In a flash I raised my own sword and brought it down ferociously. There was a loud ping as his sword shattered under my blow. Then there was the sound of tearing metal, and he was gone. As I sheathed my sword Ronnie walked up. She had been watching from a distance, and was impressed with my performance.

Just as she made some remark about Kara and I, and I was about to reply with a snarling riposte, Umbrus slammed into me from behind, and started licking my face like crazy. Somehow I wished I could share their happiness, inside and out. But the knowledge I possessed was too crucial to be taken lightly. By it our town, maybe even the world, could live... or die.

XXXXX

Not bad for a chapter, eh? And if what's going to happen isn't obvious, then may you be slapped across the face with a frozen rat's tail.

Though things will get far more eventful, and unexpected, for most of you, in the final few chapters. Tune in next time for chapter 15!


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note: I don't own DP.

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

darkflame1516- I'll be sure to check it out sometime. Keep me posted!

nooneluvsme- Life can seem very boring sometimes. Believe me I understand that.

the sleep warrior- sorry about the whole confusion thing. It may just be you, but one could still consider it a curse.

enigmatic penguin- I'll remember that. "EP, Lady of Random" does that sound good for a title for you.

Things are really going to get going in the next couple chapters. And whether you like the twists or not, please review. I really do appreciate the feedback.

Enjoy! Chapter 15 (Phase Three: Forgotten the Light Grows Dim)

"How on earth are we going to stop this?" I asked to no one in particular as I paced across the clearing.

The clearing had become our unofficial "place of conference", plus it kept out a lot of the snow that was falling at that particlar moment. Ronnie, Tai, Umbrus, and even Kara were involved. She wasn't a member of the team, but her input could sometimes be helpful. Plus I liked keeping her up to date on recent events.

"So the basic scenario is that we're on the verge of an inter-dimensional war, we barely even know what our opposition is, and chances are we're going to be severely out-gunned, outnumbered and overwhelmed, plus we have a spy in our midst," Ronnie summed up the situation in about twelve seconds.

"A spy? How?" Kara asked, "The only people who know your identities are us here!"

"Exactly," Ronnie said, "I don't know how they could do it. A spy would be detected, by either you Tir, or Umbrus, as would any sort of bug."

"Getting back to the really big picture," Tai cut in, "If we are to defeat this enemy, we need help."

"Help?" I asked, an idea starting to form in my head. "Tai, circle the calendar when you get home."

"Uh, why?" he asked surprisedly.

"Because you my friend, are a genius!" I cried, slapping him on the back, "Why didn't I think of it before!"

"Think of what?" everyone save Umbrus asked. He just perked up his ears with interest.

"Let's just say we need to call up an old friend..."

OOOOO

"I can't believe he's not here!" I exclaimed, slamming my fist onto a blank wall. Everything in the base had been taken, down to the last piece of carbon paper.

I corrected myself as I heard a crinkling of paper behind me. I turned as Umbrus pushed a piece of paper into my hand. Giving him a pat on the head I unfolded it and opened up a letter, stating this.

_Colonel Richard Suzuki, In light of your recent encounter with the ghost that stole the X-15 Arbiter, and your alliance with one "Yurei Ninja," if not for the fact that you had recovered the stolen property and acquired twenty gigabytes of information on both ghosts, a court-marshal would be in order. _

_However, given your otherwise spotless record, as well as the benefits of the encounter, we have decided that you need only to discontinue any contact, aside from surveillance, with the "Yurei Ninja". _

_We have also decided that JMBY 1 should be evacuated and re-established at a more suitable location in Tokyo. It is of the utmost importance that you not be rediscovered. If you, or anyone on your staff is found to be in contact with the "Yurei Ninja", or any of his affiliates, you shall all be punished under the strictest methods we can apply._

_I trust that you will make the right choice. Sincerely, Lt. General Hercule Hastings._

I just stared at the note momentarily. Ronnie tapped me on the shoulder, and I gave her the note to read. After a moment she turned to Tai, Umbrus and myself, Kara having not come, and said, "You realize what we're going to have to do, right?"

"Sis, we can't jeopardize the guy's job," I protested, "It just wouldn't be right, given how well he treated us last time our paths crossed."

"Tir, a lot more than this guy's job is at stake here," Ronnie said gravely, "Humanity, maybe even the entire world, hangs in the balance. I think he'd understand that."

"You always did have a way with words, you know that sis?" I asked. Turning to Tai I asked, "You wanna come with?"

"I'm game," he replied, "Let's go hunt out some army ants."

OOOOO

"Do you kids realize that I haven't gone to Tokyo in absolute ages?" Mom asked as we drove along a barren stretch of highway, "Oh how much it will have changed! And there's so much shopping to be done!"

While the drive itself was uneventful, aside from a little first-base action in the back seat between Kara and myself, the view was amazing. Deep, secluded valleys in the mountains, their snow-capped peaks extending high into the sky, until they were lost to view among the clouds.

Snow fell softly in the cool, tranquil outside air, whilst I held Kara close, my left arm over her other shoulder, my right hand gently massaging her leg. Her hands rested gently on mine, at least until they started to unzip my coat, then wrap it lightly around her. She rested her head ever so warmly against my chest.

At one point Ronnie made the near-fatal mistake of looking back at us. For a split second she had what could be considered a look of "awww" on her face, which was shortly replaced by a grimace of disgust as she immediately whipped around in her seat and said, "Mom! Tir's breaking back-seat rule #852!"

"Tir," Mom called back, adjusting the rear-view mirror ever so slightly, "What is the back seat for?"

I sighed, then answered, "The back seat of said vehicle is for sitting only, unless I am old enought to drive, in which case it can be used to award, or steal, no higher than second base, in my case no higher than first. Happy?"

"Quite," she answered, then readjusted the mirror.

"But Mrs. Morgan," Kara said humbly, "It's really kind of cold back here, and rather than burning gas heating up the car, we decided to try and conserve our body heat."

I just stared at her in astonishment as mom said with a slight grin, "Alright then. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to bend the rules this one time." If I was astonished, Ronnie was in a state of slack-jawed awe, and Tai was a combination of amusement and surprise.

"How?" I asked as she snuggled a little further up my chest, until her head rested just under mine.

"You just have to know how mothers work," she said as she gave me a light peck on the cheek.

OOOOO

"Okay, here's the plan," I said as mom was going through a bookstore, "Kara, you and Ronnie stay with mom so she won't have any ferociously big reason to suspect anything's wrong. Ronnie can get a hold of both of us over the earphones if something happens. If something does happen, and we need your help, then Kara, you distract her. Okay?"

They nodded. Then I turned to Tai and Umbrus. "You two are coming with me. We'll need Umbrus to track the scent on that letter, and I'll need both of you on hand if things get out of control."

"If that letter has any accurate bearing, then Suzuki is probably being supervised very closely, so we may get ambushed." They nodded, and I concluded by saying, "Everything may be riding on how this goes, so hold out on drawing weapons until the last possible moment. We need to show that we are no threat to them. Now let's go."

OOOOO

Things were slow at first. We went through probably twenty separate city blocks before Umbrus caught any sort of scent. Then he was off as fast as he could go. We had a hard time just keeping up with him. We twisted all over the place, shopping districts, apartment buildings, personal homes, you get the general idea.

After a while the trail led out of the city, and into the closest thing Tokyo has to suburbs. Even that petered out and gave way to open country. Rolling hills dotted the landscape, with trees extending high into the air in some places. Eventually, Umbrus stopped at what could only be interpreted as a large moss-covered stone.

As we approached it a voice called out over a hidden speakerphone, "Halt! State your names and business here!"

Umbrus looked at me, and Tai gave me a brief glance before I replied, "I am Yurei Ninja, and these are two of my associates."

There was a moment's silence before the voice said again, "You have not yet stated your business here. Tell us what you want here, or we will be forced to remove you from here by force."

Biting back the truthful insult that came to mind I said, "We simply wish to talk with your C.O. We have urgent news and wish to speak with him."

Again the voice was silent for a bit before it replied, "Very well. Please keep your arms and legs inside the chute at all times." I looked down as the earth opened up under us, and we fell into a long spiralling shaft.

"Yurei, put your hands in the air!" Tai called. I glanced back and saw that he was howling with joy, whilst his uniform came on at the same time. I almost broke out laughing myself just as we hit the floor below.

After extricating myself from the bottom of the heap I said, "That was kind of fun."

"Which is far more than can be said for you, runt," a familiar voice called from behind me. I whipped around and was confronted with Mallen, a confident sneer pasted across his face. "Who's this? I don't remember him from our last encounter."

"Enough with the insults, Mallen," I growled, "This is Haiiro-kun Yurei, the most recent member to my team. Now let's see your C.O. I have some important news for him."

"He's standing right in front of you," Mallen grinned wickedly. My eyes must have nearly popped out of my head because his smile deepened even further.

"No, seriously, where's Colonel Suzuki?" I asked with a slight edge to my voice. I was not lliking this meeting so far.

"You'll meet him soon enough," he grinned, "Oh I assure you he's alright. I just outrank him is all."

"No!" I gasped.

"You're looking at Maj. General Mallen, American military head of Japanese Military Base Yurei 1. Now can we get on with that meeting you wanted? I do have orders to at least hear you out before trading you over to disection," he said as he made his way over to the door on the far side of the room.

"Let's get this meeting on, then," I said, following him out the door.

OOOOO

"Okay, boy," he said, sitting down in his desk, "What do you have to say?"

There were a few friendly faces at the table, including, some of whom I had been informed were promoted, Sergeant Tyne Snow, Lt. Sane Yashimi, and Lt. Colonel Hanlin. They all seemed sad and depressed. Even Snow seemed down in her spirits, which was odd since she'd always struck me as the kind that didn't get down without a fight. But by a long shot the saddest person at that table was the man who'd started it all. Colonel Suzuki, the most resilient person I'd ever met, sat with a totally expressionless face.

He seemed to me a broken man, the pain in his eyes showing every inch of it. The fight in him that I'd become familiar with before was gone, replaced with total despair. It was one of the saddest things I'd ever seen, and everyone else, save Mallen, felt the same way.

"Now then," Mallen said, sitting in his chair at the head of the table with a malicious grin on his face, "What information do you have for us?"

I decided on one thing for sure: no matter what I told him, no matter how desperate the situation was, Mallen wouldn't help us if it killed him. Then an idea came to me. It was incredibly risky, but it could work. Turning my attention to Suzuki I said," We're in trouble sir. I have reason to believe that the Ghost Zone is-"

"I'm over here, boy," Mallen hissed, "If you're going to say anything you're going to say it to the brains of this outfit."

Ignoring Mallen, and insulting him as well I continued, "Someone in the Ghost Zone is preparing for an inter-dimensional war."

Snow's eyes snapped wide open, Yashimi's mouth opened a bit, and even Mallen raised an eyebrow. Given that Suzuki had raised his head, I knew that I had his attention.

"How can I prove that what you're saying is true?" Mallen asked, "What if it's some kind of trap?"

"I have one way to show you for absolutely sure," I replied, getting out of my seat and walking around the table towards him, "And besides, doesn't my last performance here count for something?"

"Doesn't the time when you had me on my back with a sword at my throat count for something?" he shot back, turning until he and I were facing each other.

I didn't answer. I just grabbed both sides of his head and murmured, "Listen to me." I did something then that I'd never done before. When I made contact with Mallen, and our minds linked, despite his struggling at first, I was somehow able to link to every other mind in the room, and I gave the information I had on the enemy. The action took a bit out of me, so I was breathing lightly when I broke the link. I think everyone in the room was too distracted by what they had felt to notice me return to my seat.

"So you see," I said after a moment's silence, "We have much to fear, Mallen. And the situation is only going to get worse as time goes on. My allies and I won't be able to hold them very long if they come in any sort of numbers. We need more men."

I'll give him this, Mallen is very quick at recovering from surprises. Almost immediately he rose from his seat and stepped towards me.

"I saw nothing, brat," he hissed, a huge grin splitting his features. "Your little ruse didn't work. What you're telling us is a lie, and I will not stand for a ghost telling me what to do."

We stood almost nose to nose as he said, "I'll bet you staged this whole thing, to try and destroy us all. Creatures like you disgust me. I'm not going to stand for it. I'll have you in the General's torture chambers for-"

"MALLEN!" the angriest voice I swear I'd ever heard bellowed from behind me. Mallen didn't move. He was just frozen in place.

"Touch one hair on that boy's head and I'll have you in chains until your arms fall off!" Despite the fact that the voice had scared the hell out of me, I couldn't have been more happy to hear it.

Mallen had recovered and called back, "Colonel, sit down. You can't put me in chains, and we all know it."

A hand grabbed Mallen by one shoulder and spun him around effortlessly, until he and Colonel Suzuki were face to face. The Colonel spoke in probably the most dangerous voice he could have used, despite its being little more than a whisper, "Just watch me, Mallen. Snow, Yashimi!"

Without a word, but each with a slight grin they leapt up and had their guns pointed at Mallen's back. "Get him out of my base," Suzuki said flatly, still looking Mallen in the eye.

As he was shown out Mallen called over his shoulder, "This is treason, Suzuki! I'll have your head before this is over! Your time in the military is over!"

"Thats fine with me, you pompous louse!" Suzuki roared back. Immediately he tore off the insignia of his rank and threw them on the floor. Within a few moments everyone else had done the same. After Snow and Yashimi had come back and followed suit Suzuki lit a match and burned them.

"So this is really it?" Snow asked, "We aren't military anymore?"

"No, Miss Snow, we're not," Suzuki answered, "But we're not going to stop doing what we do. That will be a bit harder though, seeing as the army is going to be after us soon. They'll be hunting for every head in this joint."

Turning to me Suzuki grinned and shook my hand as he said, "Thank you, son. Without your little touch of ghostwork there I'd still be under Mallen's thumb. That lying scuzbucket! I can't believe he didn't see anything!"

"Actually Suzuki," I said a bit shamefacedly, "He really didn't see anything. No one saw anything but you. They felt something, but they didn't see it."

"What?" he said a bit surprisedly, "You mean to tell me that none of them saw that? But why?"

"I needed to show you alone what the situation was," I replied, "I can't say for sure how the other's would've reacted, but I had a hunch it would break you out of that despair you were in a couple minutes ago. Even Mallen couldn't have denied what you saw, and his belief in it would have done you no good. Besides, I wouldn't have had enough power to link all of our minds."

He was expressionless for a moment before his face creased into an even wider grin than Mallen had wielded earlier. "Thank you, son," he said, patting me on the back, "Cleverly done."

"Your welcome sir," I said in turn, "Now, what are you going to do about Mallen?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Suzuki thrust the question aside, "We've got several architects more than willing to help build and design a concealed base."

"Good," I said, "Now how are you for funds? Supplies? Energy?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Suzuki grinned, slapping a hand down on the conference table, "When they make these bases they make 'em so they can last for years without backup, if the situation goes ill. We aren't going to run out of anything until the year 2027 at least!"

"How are you for people?" I asked, "How many able-bodied defenders?"

"We've got two hundred-fifty ecto-jet pilots, a hundred anti-ghost tanks, four hundred standard infantry, and enough ghost suits to stock up twice our number of six hundred seventy-five operators that I know will be more than willing to help."

"So how are you going to contact us?" he asked after he'd told Yashimi to get the message across that they were leaving and taking everything with them.

"That won't be a problem, sir. I've got an idea for the location of your base..."

OOOOO

"So boys, how was your day?" Mom asked as we met up.

"Same old, same old," I smiled, giving Ronnie and Kara a wink.

"Good, then let's head home," she said joyfully.

OOOOO

"...So that's the plan," I whispered into Kara's ear.

"Well, it's good to know that we have some friends in high places," she whispered back, kissing my cheek.

"Yes, but I think this is going to get worse before it get's better," I replied, taking gentle hold of her hand, "Even with eleven hundred fully-trained military at our back this is going to be a tough stunt to pull off. They've got enough ghost suits to possibly pull this off, they just don't have enough people."

"If they had more people as infantry they could have their men in ghost suits, but I don't think that's going to change any time soon."

"Wait," Ronnie said, having listened to the conversation, "I've got an idea-"

There was a horrendous crunch as the hood of the car caved in. We all got out just as the roof collapsed with a crunch. A black form rested on the hood, a katana in one hand, which was what had crushed the car.

It was a black ninja, with three slash marks of red thread on its right shoulder. It had a supple, yet lean frame, not unlike my own, only it was shorter. Cool grey skin showed in the tiny crack between the folds of its mask, as did a pair of dangerous hot coals that glared out on the world with a deep hatred of the life surrounding them. A pair of dangerous red-handled katanas were strapped across its back, and I presumed for good reason.

"Run!" I called out. Ronnie shook mom out of her stupor and got her moving no more than a few steps before the ninja appeared in front of them. It held one of its deathly sharp pale-bladed swords in one hand. Moving faster than the eye could see I transformed and caught the ninja's wrist in my hand. The ninja's arm trembled, trying to force the blade down to my face. After a moment, the struggle proved to be a stalemate.

I didn't dare talk, for fear of mom recognising my voice at such a close distance. Grating in as deep a voice as I could I said, "Get... her... out... of... here... NOW!"

"That voice..." I heard mom's voice utter, barely a hushed whisper. With a deft movement the ninja flipped his katana upside-down and thrust it towards the ground, plowing a long cut down the back of my collar bone, barely missing my shoulder blade and slashing down the right side of my back. I staggered for a second, then kneeled, catching my breath and trying to suppress the pain that was throbbing through my entire back. I touched a hand to my back, and after drawing my hand away with a gasp of pain, I saw that it was wet with thick green ghost blood. I raised my head, just as his foot crashed into my side.

I rolled onto my back, trying to raise myself back to my feet, but my hands kept sliding in my own blood. He stood over me, his katana raised over his head, pointed at my chest.

In a low voice he growled, "GOOD NIGHT, SON OF DARKNESS." His voice, despite the intense hatred burning in his eyes, was level with contempt, as if his anger was what kept his voice from fraying.

A large white shape slammed into his side, throwing him off balance. It was all the time I needed, even though Umbrus was thrown back by a powerful shock seconds later.

With a blood-stained fist I slammed my knuckles into his skull. As he was knocked back I morphed to my human self and back in about two seconds. The pain was still there, and I was weakened considerably, but at least I wouldn't lose energy so quickly. Combining light and dark I formed my sword, its point a few inches from the ground. We stood for a moment, staring at each other. The snow had died away, and though clouds still covered a part of the sky, the moon cast a ghostly silver light upon us.

Our clothes snapped in the wind, and my blade glistened and hummed in the moonlight. His was black and silent as pitch, as if dead to the world it had once inhabited. "What now, dare I ask?" I said, settling myself into a steadier stance. I knew better, through bitter experience, than to let my guard down when I talked.

"I AM NINJUTSA, THE ASSASSIN OF SOULS," his voice hissed, low, reedy and menacing, "AND NOW THE WORLD SHALL TREMBLE WITH YOUR PASSING."

His sword swayed in his hands, almost lazily, tracing slow arcs in the air. The attack came swiftly. If I hadn't raised my sword handle-up first I probably would have been decapitated on the spot.

Sparks flew as our blades clashed like great winds. The force of his blow echoed through my sword as I was thrown backwards. I swept my blade in a two-way slash, first left and then down, blocking two of Ninjutsa's lethal strokes. Our blades locked once more, and I glared into those cold, burning eyes that glistened with hate. My whole body was groaning from the intense effort required to hold Ninjutsa's sword at bay.

"YOUR HALF-LIFE, AND YOUR WORLD'S LIFE, END HERE, WHELP," Ninjutsa said indifferently. As hard as I could I pushed Ninjutsa's sword to one side, then, as my fist crashed into his face, a huge blast of white energy burst from my right arm. Ninjutsa landed on his back several feet away, his whole body smoking from the intensity of my blast. However, my attention wasn't riveted on him. It was on my own persona. The gloves I had worn over my hands before were gone, replaced instead by white skin and claws. Fine, sparkling little lights danced in the air around them.

"WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?" an unfamiliar voice asked me. I looked up, and Ninjutsa stood before me. Though only the clothes that being wore could identify it as Ninjutsa.

Her face was blue-grey in complexion, with dark lips and eyebrows indifferently flat, slightly pointed ears, and silvery white hair, not unlike my own, down to the middle of the upper half of her back. Her eyes, those cold, scathing red eyes, darkened her otherwise beautiful visage, and warped it into a face the world should never have seen. She was evil, and that evil pulsed in her veins more strongly than blood ever did whilst she was alive. Taking in the rest of her I realized that there were other qualities, although fairly well concealed, that confirmed the story her face told.

"So when were you going to tell me?" I asked, gripping my sword in one hand. Her eyes flared, and she stepped forward, drawing her other sword as well.

"I MAY HAVE SHOWN YOU MERCY BEFORE, CHILD," she threatened as her swords started to glow dully, "BUT WITH BOTH THE SWORDS TETSUKA AND TORAKA IN MY HANDS, YOU WILL DIE... VERY... VERY... SLOWLY."

"We shall see," I growled, forming two sister katanas identical to their parent blade, save that one was the opposite in coloration.

"INDEED," she said, her swords glowing, one a pale red, the other a dull green, but both becoming sharper and brighter with every passing moment, as if they massed their power for a great battle. "IN ONE HAND I WIELD TETSUKA, THE LONELY BLADE, BANE TO ALL DISEMBODIED SOULS," she held up the green blade, then lowered it and raised the red one and said, "AND IN THE OTHER I HOLD TORAKA, BLADE OF THE TIGER, FORGED FROM TANTARRA'S FATHER'S CLAWS AND FANGS, THAT CAN HARVEST A HUNDRED LIVING SOULS IN ONE STROKE. NO BEING CAN WITHSTAND THEM BOTH, LEAST OF ALL YOU."

She struck like a cobra, her twin swords flaring as they thrust for my heart. I stepped to one side and flipped both my weapons upside-down and dashed forward. Her swords were knocked from her grasp as my foot shot out and struck her in the middle. She flew back with a whoosh, my blow having knocked the wind from her. As her feet hit the ground her arms flicked out, shooting dozens of tiny shuriken at me. I countered them with my own, then flew in for a vicious attack, sheathing my swords. I wouldn't need them.

For the second time I could feel my rage building, and I let it. Face, chest, arms, legs, nothing of hers was safe from my deadly fists. It was a foolish mistake, and if I hadn't let it happen I might not have come so close. I surged on, blow after blow raining down upon her, until she was against the ground, breathing harshly, with green blood flowing down her chin. I brought up my right hand for the killing blow, and as it came down I saw Tetsuka in her hand, but it was too late. My hand was impaled, clear through the palm.

In such a towering madness my mind only dully perceived pain. Without twitching so much as a muscle my other arm shot out, ramming into Tetuska's blade and snapping it in two like a dead sapling. After I drew what remained of the blade from my hand, which was a good foot and a half, give or take an inch, I grabbed Ninjutsa around the neck and replaced Toraka and what remained of Tetsuka in their proper sheaths, opened my bloody, twisted hand, and banished her back whence she came. Very suddenly the full weight of the battle descended on me, and I could barely even think straight, let alone move.

My whole body trembled with the effort it took just to lift one arm a few inches off the ground. I struggled for what felt like hours, trying to lift myself off the ground. It took much more even to take a single step. I'm not sure what was driving me, but it was more powerful even than my battle frenzy.

When I stumbled and fell, much as my body screamed in pain, and sweated, I wouldn't stop. When I fell my thoughts were only "Get back up," and when I once again returned to my feet, my thought was focused on a single thing: "one more step. One more step." My whole body groaned and heaved with exhaustion. Drool and froth fell from my mouth, but I was too weak even to think of wiping it away. Sweat pooled along my entire body, mixing with the congealing blood on my hand, stinging as it slid through the back of my palm and dripped from the opposite end of the hole. After an eternity I came to the side of the road. No vehicles had passed by, and given the present weather I couldn't have blamed them, if I had had the capacity to blame someone at that point in time. I looked at the car. Unlike myself, it would get no second chance.

With a small fraction of the energy I had left I formed a crutch for me to lean on. And I continued on until the crutch snapped. Drained as I was the objects I formed were actually susceptible to mundane wear and tear.

I lay there senseless, oblivious to the passing of time around me. I would have been truly dead if a friend I had once saved returned the favor. Umbrus wormed his neck under my left arm, then gently gripped my hand in his jaws and dragged me on, my other arm and legs dragging on the ground. The strength he displayed astounded my limited consciousness. I could barely grasp the concept of moving myself, let alone another with me. After a time we approached a grove of trees, and Umbrus released my hand and stepped off to one side. I could tell that he was weak still, as he lay a few metres away panting. I managed to say, "Thank you."

It surprised me. The voice I had used sounded unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It sounded weak, raspy, and utterly spent, the voice of one who no longer clings to life and begs for death to come swiftly. His effort had restored some of my strength, and I gradually made my way back to my feet. Tai came out of a small gap in the trees of the grove and stood off to one side, Kara following closely after. I couldn't recognize them, but I knew that they meant me no harm. They seemed horrified by my condition, but they made no attempt to help me. I soon found out why.

As I entered a small clearing in the grove a ghost ray blasted by my ear. It was quickly followed by a shrill, almost hysterical voice saying, "Take one step more, ghost, and taste oblivion."

I lifted my head ever so slowly, barely able to keep my eyes open, and stared at my mother, who stood brandishing a ghost sniper in front of me, only a few feet away. Her eyes were wide, her skin sweaty, her whole body twitched constantly, and her voice sounded on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Even in my depraved state I could tell she was almost mad with fear. Ronnie sat on her left side, afraid to intervene lest mom freak out and try to kill me. It was funny in a weird sort of way.

There I was, totally defenseless, almost crippled, unable to even think straight, with a gun pointed at my head, and I didn't feel anything but pain. No fear, no anger, no anxiety, nothing, save the sharp throb of pain that jolted through my body every second.

"Mom," my voice cracked, barely more than a whisper.

Her eyes flickered with shock for a split second before she hissed, "Shut up, ghost! You don't talk until I say you can. Now where is my son?" I stared blankly at her, trying to wrap my mind around the concept that she still hadn't made the connection between us, that Tirrell Morgan and Yurei Ninja were one and the same.

"Mom," I groaned again, agonizingly extending an arm, trying to reach out to her.

"Stop saying that!" she spat shrilly, her finger tightening ever so slightly on the trigger, "Now where is my son!" I stumbled, accidentally stepping a foot forward to catch myself. Big mistake.

A huge blast of pain stabbed into my system as her gun went off, blasting a huge crater in my right shoulder. The force of the shot spun me around, and I landed on my left side, then rolled onto my back. I could feel my control slipping away. She knelt down over me, her gun pointed at my head.

"You have until the count of three before I blow you to Kingdom come, to tell me where my son is. One..." My chest was heaving. The pain I had experienced before was nothing compared to this. The pain was so cataclysmic that I could barely hear her speak. I just gritted my teeth and tried to maintain control.

"Two..." came the next count. Even though my eyes were wide open I couldn't see anything but red. Hot tears poured from my eyes as spasmadic coughs wracked my body. My resolve was crumbling fast. I could barely control myself. I was going to lose it.

"Three..." Despite myself I could hear the slight click as her finger started to squeeze the trigger. Just as it was about to go off, I lost control. As my body lost its great, supernatural strength, the pain faded away, and was followed by darkness.

XXXXX

And with answers come more questions. Is Tir dead? Does his mom end up going insane and killing him? Where is Suzuki's new base going to be? Who knows? Me, that's who! Huahuahauhahauh!

Read and review, people, the next chapter isn't going to write itself, you know! That's my job. Tune in next time for Chapter 16!


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: I don't own DP.

Thanks to the sleep warrior and darkflame1516 for your reviews. I'd thank the rest of you, but you didn't review (hint hint)!

I don't have much to say, aside from this, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!" Sorry it came a bit late, by the way. Anyway, here's chapter 16!

Chapter 16 (Phase Four: Tarnished by the Raven Hand)

"MY RAVEN," the darkness spoke to the small form that stood as far away from the edge of the ravine as its master allowed, "THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOU TO DEAL THE CRITICAL BLOW! MY PLAN HAS WORKED PERFECTLY SO FAR! THE CHILD WOULD THINK AN OUTSIDE ATTACK WILL FINISH HIM, WHEN IN THE END IT SHALL BE THAT WHICH HE NEVER HAD THAT SHALL DESTROY HIM!"

The small form was hooded and cloaked, so that only its eyes were visible. "But master," it said diminutively, "I thought that I was only to infiltrate the Ninja's life, not destroy him."

"FOOLISH CHILD!" the darkness roared, its temper mounting, "I OWN YOU! WITH BUT A THOUGHT I CAN DESTROY YOU! NOW YOU WILL DO AS I SAY, OR OBLIVION SHALL BE THE LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES!"

"Master, since you created me, you know that I fear nothing," the small form said. It stated this not as a boast, but as a solid fact. It could act scared, but it was truly terrified of nothing, not even its master's threats on its own small being.

A warped visage, hidden by the darkness, smiled. "OH REALLY? THEN YOU WOULD BE UNAFRAID, UNCARING IF I MYSELF WENT AND TOLD HIM OF YOU, THEN SNUFFED OUT HIS LIFE!"

The small form experienced something it could never have imagined before: fear. It was afraid, but not for itself. "Don't! Please! I'll do anything you ask!"

The smile in the darkness grew broader as it cooed, "THAT'S BETTER..."

OOOOO

"This is getting old," I groaned as another of the winged beasts met its banishment by my sword. They were small, only up to my knee, with dark blue skin, red eyes, and a small set of talons and a ripping beak each. They had plagued the town over the last couple of weeks or so. It was a good thing that Christmas break had rolled in by that point, or our school year would have been extended well into the summer holidays.

_"Enough!"_ I roared, curling into a ball and unleashing a nova of yureikan. The winged beasts screeched, then disappeared. For the moment, they were gone. Letting out a deep sigh I said, "Who knows, they might give me Christmas off. It's only a day's wait anyway." I then flew off home, hoping not to run into another patrol before I got there.

OOOOO

Let me sum up what's been happening over the last couple of weeks. Mom finally knows I'm a half-ghost, after about three months of concealing it from her. As such she's delved more deeply into her old research than ever before. The big difference is she now budgets the amount of time she goes into research mode. Three hours is her maximum, five if the situation is critical. As it is, she's been a huge help to our cause, as has Colonel Suzuki's nearby military base. We have them as a general line on our earpieces now, so they can contact us for rogue ghosts if need be. Plus we get to try out some of their suits.

Tai and Ronnie are getting to be excellent fighters, though they still can't beat me in the T-07 Specter. Ronnie's suit is called the Bishop, and Tai's is the Judicator, since it was left behind when Mallen was cast out. Hanlin and his tech. boys are even trying to develop a machine with an OS for Umbrus. A lethal weapon in itself.

Kara and myself have gotten progressively closer and closer, although we still haven't kissed on the lips yet. Though with the Christmas season in full blow, it can't be far away. And of course, the fighting just keeps going on. Not just with ghosts either. Mallen wasn't kidding when he said he was going to wreak his vengeance. There are at least four separate military patrols daily, searching for leads, and trying to hunt me down, as well as the whereabouts of the rogue militants.

They've advertised that too, saying that Suzuki and his band of rogue military are violent and highly dangerous to anyone in the area. If they only knew that Suzuki was within twenty miles of town.

OOOOO

"Amazing," Mom said, "Now bend it back." I rolled my eyes, sighed, then bent the bar back into a straight beam.

"Impressive," Tai admitted. Even with the Ghost Grabbers he couldn't achieve the same feat of raw strength. "Those claws are a blessing to you, friend."

"Yeah, and it drives Kara nuts whenever I try to tickle her with them," I laughed, eyeing her from across the room. She seemed very aloof, very distant, as she had the last week or so. She hadn't even heard my joke. Concerned as I was I walked over to her and sat down by her side.

It took a couple seconds to get her attention, something that didn't happen often. Finally she raised her head and asked, "Yes? What is it?"

"Is there something the matter?" I asked in turn, "You just seem a bit "out of it". Is it something you want to talk about?"

She shifted very uncomfortably in her seat, which was understandable considering it was a cheap plastic lab chair. "Well-"

"Suzuki to Yurei, over," the Colonel's voice called over my earpiece. He sounded in mission mode, so I figured I'd better listen. Ronnie and Tai had tuned their earpieces too, to listen to instructions.

"If it has anything to do with that dead garlic weasel in your office sir, I assure you I had nothing to do with it."

"Cut the theatrics, Ninja Division. This is serious," Suzuki said back, over the obvius chuckling in the background, "We've got two above-average bogies en route to the High School, and we need you to bag 'em. All of our suits are in for upgrades and maintenance, and the local military is useless, so can you get on that?"

"A.S.A.P, sir," I replied.

"Good, now-," he paused, "Wait a minute. What dead garlic weasel in my office?"

"Kkh. Sorry sir, you're kkh, breaking up. I'll kkh, call you back later," I said, switching my earpiece off, lest the Colonel burst the sound barrier, and my ears, with the rant I'd just instigated.

"Show time, ladies and gents. Let's lock an' load," I said, heading for the stairs.

"Are you sure you can handle it, Tir?" Mom asked. Whether I liked it or not I did still show the odd sign of fatigue from my last big outing.

"Sure. And if I can't it would be the perfect opportunity for you guys to give those suits a field test."

"See you tonight, then?" Kara asked as we got up to leave.

"Wouldn't miss it," I grinned. Not many teenage boys get to be alone with their girlfriend around Christmas.

OOOOO

Two large forms, cloaked in black, descended to ground level. To a mortal's eyes they would appear as shades, darkness hooded and cloaked within itself, locked in place by the dull gray belts they wore around their waists. They would appear eyeless and featureless, devoid of any sort of human trait. The pitch black gauntlets and boots they had over their hands and feet concealed their limbs, hiding them from the sunlight reflecting off the powdery snow.

They struck me as impressive and forboding, the perfect picture of evil. Master would be indeed pleased with me. Not that that raised my low spirits. Just as I cannot feel fear, only feign it, I cannot feel any other emotion save sadness, and despair.

OOOOO

"There they are," I hissed into my earpiece. Even from two thousand feet up I could easily pick out the two dark forms below. "Umbrus and I go in first. Ronnie, you and Umbrus take the one on the left. Tai, you and I take the one on the right. You two don't intervene until things look hopeless for your partner, so we pull a distraction manuever. Clear?"

"As mud," Ronnie responded. I looked in her direction for a second before I signalled mine and Umbrus's descent. I don't care how cool some of my other powers are, none of them can rival the single ability of flight.

I felt like the world's biggest falcon, diving at overa hundred miles an hour towards a wayward pigeon below. Okay, bad simile, but you get the idea. Flight good, pigeon bad.

Without my meaning to, once we'd gotten a lot closer, I felt this huge rumble in my chest that swelled up my throat and escaped as a tremendous roar. My entire body reverberated with it as my huge fists slammed into the cloaked figure. Umbrus followed a second later. I hit my target so hard I flipped in midair before my feet struck the ground. As I turned I observed my opponent. Its entire form was black, even where its face should have been.

After a moment I realized that it had a very faint outline of something, as if the black cloaked figure it projected was merely an illusion.The shadehad no hair on its scalp, and glistening fangs dripped venom from its mouth. Its entire body, including its pointed ears and spined eyebrows, glistened with sweat. Two small holes in the middle of its face marked where its nose should have been. Huge muscles twined across its arms, legs and torso, and its huge red eyes glared venomously at me. This wasn't a ghost. This was a demon.

I glanced momentarily at its partner. A female form of itself, slimmer, nimbler, but no less deadly. She possessed very light, almost transluscent hair, which flickered and sparked as she moved, with a pair of horns marking the beginning of her hairline. Her deep gold eyes glared with no less venom than her partners', and if anything the poison dripping from her fangs seemed more deadly still. A strange sort of energy, almost like wisps of white steam and smoke, radiated from them. The air suddenly grew very still. I didn't even need to try diplomacy on these two. I knew they wouldn't hear it. So I did the only thing I could.

I drew my swords, merged them as one, and with a deafening war cry I lunged.

OOOOO

I could feel the intense energy blasting from him as Tir struck. It looked almost as if he might cleave Amainjir in two right off. But I had long since learned that a demon wouldn't die so easily. Sorrento, Ninjutsa, Inuhi, they had nothing on these Amainjir and Sulnjir. In a split second Amainjir was gone, rematerializing several feet to one side. His cruel red eyes leered at Tir, then he barked harshly and leapt.

Tir narrowly avoided the onslaught, leaning to one side and just as Amainjir went by he dug the claws on his right hand deep into Amainjir's cloak, scalding the flesh beneath. The beast shrieked, then turned and dealt Tir a vicious blow to one side. Tir groaned as he was lifted bodily into the air, then hit the ground a few feet away. He raised himself to his feet, sheathing his sword. Perhaps a wiser choice than one might think.

He and Amainjir circled each other, golden eyes meeting red. They were deadlocked, neither seeing anything aside from his opponent. As suddenly as a shot there was a loud clang as their claws rang off each other. Tir took advantage of the moment to try and claw his opponent's face, or what of it could be seen beneath the cloak. Odd, I thought to myself, It's almost as if he can see what lies beneath Amainjir's shroud of illusion. No one who has ever faced Amainjir lasted this long.

Amainjir locked his claws with Tir's, then copied Tir's tactic. It had the same effect. Then the true test of Tir's worth began.

OOOOO

I had absolutely no doubt that this guy was strong. But then, he wasn't the only ghost blessed with supernatural strength. All things considered we were about even. My claws and his were both beaded with sweat as we both pushed back and forth.

"What do you want?" I groaned as my entire being focused on repelling the creature.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT I WANT, BUT WHAT MASTER WANTS," he replied, twisting my arms so I was entirely unbalanced, and couldn't push forward without dislocating my arms. At that point I phased through his claws, or tried to. As I phased my arms through each other, I realized that my claws wouldn't phase. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't relieve them from his grasp. Then an idea came to me.

With every last ounce of strength I had I heaved myself backwards, flipping him on top of me, then kicked out my legs and propelled him into the fence surrounding the high school. A huge cloud of snow blew out from where he landed, and just as I drew my sword once more, a huge black, twisting shape emerged from the snow.

_Shape-shifting ghosts. Hate 'em!_ I said to myself as a gigantic wyrm took shape in front of me. He was about as big around as a telephone pole, and a lot longer. Huge glistening green antlers sprouted from his head as a broad, square snout erupted from his face. Enormous fangs, long rows of deadly black spines and barbed whiskers of hair grew and formed all across his body. His arms shrank, replaced by vicious hooked talons. The only part of him that was recognizeable was his pair of fiery red eyes. Oddly enough though, I could still see the cloaked figure. It was as if it were a locked illusion, and yet I could see through it. _A ruse to fool humans, perhaps,_ I thought as he lunged, _but not me._

He thrust his head at me with probably enough force to impale an eighteen wheeler. I narrowly avoided his snout, when suddenly what was left of his right arm slammed into my stomach, winding me, and lifted me into the air. After he had me a fair ways up he wrapped his other arm around me, then my skin crawled as his enormous coils of flesh wrapped around my legs.

I wondered why he held me down with both coils and arms, until it hit me. He meant to tear me in _half!_

My theory was confirmed about a second later as tension gathered around my middle and started to rapidly increase. Unfortunately, I couldn't move, and the pain from his stretching me was starting to grow to the extent that it was breaking my concentration. Even my superhuman strength wasn't enough to break his hold. I could feel my spine cracking, and unfortunately my lasting fatigue from facing Ninjutsa was catching up to me very quickly.

Just as I felt like I really could be in two places at once, a searing blast of green energy flew by my ear, melting the beast's flesh, and causing his dividing hold to slacken ever so slightly. It was all the time I needed. I thrust both arms up as quickly as I could, and thanks to my sword the beast's coils were cut to ribbons. There was a huge, unearthly shriek as I flew free of his spasming coils. My eardrums nearly exploded just hearing it.

As suddenly as the ultrasonic screech began it ended, and the two figures were gone. As soon as I touched the ground my legs buckled, and I found that I could barely move anything below my waist at all. I heard footsteps, and looked up just as Umbrus barreled into me, doing what all dogs do. As I tried to fight him off me Tai walked up and helped me to my feet. He really did make that suit look good.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we?" I asked as he helped me to my feet. "That blast was inches away from frying me!"

"I'm still trying to figure out the kinks in this thing. Although the modified variant arm in cool," he grinned as he removed his helmet and switched his right hand between a cannon, a laser sword, and a lethal-looking set of claws. "Now I wonder..." Tai murmured to himself. His question was followed a second later as his hand formed a swiss army knife, complete with foldup umbrella.

"Cool!" I exclaimed as his hand shifted back to normal. Straightening my back I turned to Ronnie and Umbrus, who had been taking care of the female of the two ghosts.

"Uh, Tir, what happened to your feet?" Ronnie asked. I looked down, wondering what she meant, and was mildly surprised to see that my feet were each about twice as long as before. I was standing on three large, clawed toes, with a fourth claw in the back. Matching my hands perfectly, they were silvery with white claws.

"I think we may need to talk to Suzuki about this," I said as I flew off into the sky.

OOOOO

"This is bad," Suzuki said over the viewscreen. Actually, it used to be our old TV, but mom tweaked it so it became a two-way communications device. There's a lot about that woman's past that I'm sure she hasn't told anyone. "This may be the beginning of the end for us."

"Colonel," I said, getting up from my seat, "Ghosts have been hunting me for a long time. This "master" some of them have had has been seeking for my head for months. We should be prepared in case the end of the world begins soon, but this may be another false alarm. I'll keep you posted, should something unusual come up, but until then just keep your fingers on your triggers."

"Unusual? You think there isn't anything out of the ordinary here, kiddo? Just look at _you_!" Suzuki pointed at my obviously inhuman hands and feet, "You're mutating! You're starting to look more Yurei than Ninja! Do even you know what's happening to yourself!"

"Sir," all our heads snapped up and around as mom spoke up, "I would ask that you show him a little more respect. He has saved countless lives, fought innumerable foes, and handed you back a bearable life." For once, we were all silent. No one can ever strike right to the point of a matter like a mom. I appreciated what she had said on my behalf, but at that moment I was asking myself the exact questions Suzuki had been throwing at me.

"You're right of course, ma'am," Suzuki acknowledged, "Sorry about that son, but things are getting pretty hectic around here, and everybody is asking me one question: when. When are we getting reinforcements? When does the fighting start? When's lunch? FOR GOD SAKES NO ONE KNOWS WHEN THE FIGHTING'S GONNA START, I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT ANY DARNED REINFORCEMENTS, **AND LUNCH STARTS AT TWELVE NOON**!"

"Colonel," Ronnie spoke up the only way she could: whenever the heck she wanted to. "We're all under a lot of stress right now, and the last thing any of us want to do is lose our heads, be it figuratively or literally. Try and hold a level temper please."

"I know, girl, I know," Suzuki yawned, "But it just felt so good to let that out. I think I'll need a vacation after all this is over. Keep me informed." As the screen went blank, I got up and, despite my battered frame, got up and walked upstairs. I hadn't forgotten I had a date with Kara that evening.

OOOOO

Unfortunately, things didn't go exactly as planned. Snow was roaring down on me in droves by the time I got to Kara's house, so we had to cancel any sort of dinner plans we may have had. I rectified that situation by hastily preparing some garlic bread and soup whilst Kara gave the dining room the perfect lighting. The kind of lighting that was almost created just for cold, stormy nights.

Dinner was eaten in silence. There was no need for words, although I had just the slightest feeling that something was troubling her. After dinner we moved on to a chess game in the den. She chose white, and I black. Several moves into the game and we'd taken as many pieces between us as we'd spoken words that evening.

Finally I broke the silence by asking, "Is there something the matter? You seem a bit distracted."

Just as she captured one of my knights with a pawn she replied kindly, "Nothing you need to worry about."

"If it's something you're worrying about," I countered, capturing her bishop with my queen, "Then you might as well tell me, because then I'm going to start worrying about why you're worried."

A few moments later, after she'd captured three of my pawns, each with her two rooks and a knight, and I her other bishop, a knight, and one of her rooks, I started it up again and asked, "So what are you worrying about?"

She stopped her queen one square short of my king, then replied, "It's nothing. Check."

"If it's nothing then there's no need to hide it," I replied, using my own queen to topple hers, "Checkmate." She looked up at me, and for the tiniest moment I swore that I could see a sharp stab of pain in her eyes. Her eyes flicked up towards the ceiling, then popped open as they landed on the clock.

"It's late," she said rising and helping me to my feet, "You should go." At the door as I was about to put my hat and jacket on she came out onto the porch to say goodbye. Once again there was no need for words as she wrapped her arms behind my neck, almost to the extent of a stranglehold, and clung to me for dear life. I wrapped both arms warmly around her middle and held her for a few moments. It felt like hours until I realized that she was shaking.

I took one hand and raised it ever so slowly to her chin. I raised it until we were staring eye to eye. Her eyes were wet, with tears winding their way down her face. But what caught me most about her at that moment were her eyes. Her normally bright blue eyes, brimming with life, were dull and clouded, as if they'd been contorted by pain. I looked deeply into them, and a split second before I was struck senseless, I understood why.

OOOOO

I was dimly aware of my surroundings. Just when my consciousness resurfaced the pain hit me in full. My head was beating a sledgehammer tattoo and my wrists and ankles felt like they'd been rubbed raw. I groaned as I opened my eyes a crack, then closed them again. It took about a second for what I had seen to register in my brain, and my eyes snapped open. Everything came rushing back.

The two ghosts, Kara's strange ambience, the blow to the back of my head. I felt like I'd been sucker-punched, betrayed, stabbed in the back, baited, hook, line and sinker. After a bit I realized that sitting there moping wasn't going to help my situation at all, so I decided to take stock of my surroundings.

I was hanging about three feet off the floor, with chains binding my wrists and ankles to the wall. If it weren't for the situation I would have thought that the 14th-century dungeon motif was pretty cool.

Dull green, slimy, glowing stones made up the cylindrical chamber's walls, floor, and ceiling. Long steel poles held up the ceiling, and grunge and filth hung from everything. Cobwebs adorned every corner and slime covered everything. Bones and small fragments of rusted metal tried to hide from sight in the corners. Insects and spiders were the only life besides me, seeing as the skeleton hanging beside me wasn't exactly very lively.

In the centre of the chamber was a strange bowl. It stood on top of a bronze pedestal, green with corrosion, and carved to resemble the base of a Greek pillar. The bowl itself was brass, welded to its pedestal by some arcane means. Carved over the rim of the bowl were seven gross claws, each attached to a bony finger carved into the bowl's surface. The liquid within the bowl was blue and stagnant. Circular steps led up to the pedestal, giving it an almost ritualistic air. The thought freaked me out.

_Well_, I thought to myself, _I'm not gonna escape from here unless I make it happen_. That decided, I planted the claws on my feet into a crack in between two stones. I took hold of the chain holding my right arm in place with both hands, braced myself, then pulled as hard as I could. It hurt just to twist my wrists and ankles around like that, let alone when I started pulling, but it was either that small discomfort, or my life. I ground my teeth together and heaved.

Planting one foot just above the base of the chain I tried to wrench it loose, but the bolts holding it there wouldn't budge. My whole body grunted and groaned as I tried pulling with a bit more frustration than before.

"I WOULDN'T BOTHER IF I WERE YOU," a very deep, very large voice said from behind me, "THOSE CHAINS HAVE STAYED THERE FOR ALMOST SIX HUNDRED YEARS. YOU'RE NOT GOING TOBE MOVING THEM ANY TIME SOON, ESPECIALLY NOT WITH YOUR POWERS NEUTRALIZED." I turned my head slowly around, and beheld a nightmare. The creature I'd faced earlier that day had returned, as had his companion, though they had been joined by a slightly smaller female figure with icy blue eyes. Unlike the other two she didn't look angry or hate-filled. I could only see despair.

"Can't blame me for trying," I shot back as they descended the stairs, "And it's not exactly like I lost fair and square. Honestly, hitting a guy over the head is not very sportsmanlike."

"YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT MUCH LONGER, MY WHITE, ECTOPLASMIC FRIEND," he replied, "YOU SHALL SPEAK WITH OUR LORD SOON ENOUGH." I got chills when he said that, so I returned to my grappling with the chain. I tried that for a time before I realized that at least one of them was looking at me. I turned around, and was confronted with the small blue-eyed one standing only inches away from me.

Turning myself around until I was staring at her I growled, "What are you staring at?"

To my surprise instead of adopting a look of intense hatred, she looked like she'd had her heart ripped out. Suddenly it hit me. I'd seen that look before, those same eyes.

Whispering as quietly as I could I asked in astonishment, "Kara?"

Her eyes widened, and I could see the hurt in her eyes as she whispered, "Tir, I'm so sorry."

"You did this?" I asked. "But how?"

"It wasn't like that," she replied, tears starting to stream down her face, "When we first came here my assignment was to find out who you were, what your weaknesses were, and where your loyalties lay."

"I'm the one who's strung up on the wall like a criminal by the woman I loved," she jerked back physically as I said that, "And _you're_ questioning _my_ loyalties!"

"I couldn't tell you," she cried, falling to her knees, "He would have told you everything, and then you'd hate me before you died. I couldn't live with that. I wanted you to like me as long as possible." My heart broke entirely as she whispered, "I love you, Tirrell."

Suddenly, everything came together to explain it. The need she'd had almost since the beginning of our relationship to try and tell me something but was conveniently interrupted, how Inuhi and them figured out I was human, and how I was able to see Kara as well as her parents before I'd regained my sight. It all fit perfectly.

"KAMINARA," the male ghost called, "IT IS TIME." With a face full of tears Kara stepped from my side to join the other two around the pedestal. She muttered some words in an arcane tongue, and the contents of the bowl started to glow. _Either this is a variation of clap-on lights, or this is really bad news,_ I thought as the liquid grew brighter and brighter, until its light consumed the entire room.

"WHAT HAVE YOU TO TELL ME, MY RAVEN?" the deepest, darkest voice ever scraped up from the abyss I had ever heard asked. In the tiniest voice I had ever heard come from her mouth Kara answered, "It is done, master."

"EXCELLENT," the voice exclaimed, causing everything in the room to tremble. I could tell that even the two ghosts I had fought earlier were shaken. "NOW LET US SPEAK. BRING MY ALTAR TO HIM."

Without hesitation the female ghost obeyed, lifting the bowl without any sort of strain and walked over to me, holding it inches from my face.

A dark silhouette was visible in the liquid. The only other thing was a pair of evil golden eyes. Words alone cannot describe those eyes, so just imagine the most vile set of gold eyes you can. The ghastly sound of ravening wolves blasted into my face as he began to speak.

"SO, YOU ARE ROBED IN WHITE," he pointed out obviously, "IRONIC THAT I AM BLACK TO MY VERY CORE."

I was silent a moment, then replied, much to the three's blatant discomfort, "I don't see much irony in that, black one. So why don't we drop any sort of pretense and cut right to the point!"

"BECAUSE YOU WOULD BE A HEADLESS CORPSE ROTTING IN MY DUNGEON IF I WERE TO DO SO. ANYTHING ELSE?" I was mildly shocked by his outright threat, so he continued, "BESIDES, I HAVE AN OFFER TO MAKE YOU."

"What kind of offer, do I dare ask?" I hissed, straining ever so slightly against my chains.

"SWEAR FEALTY TO ME, AND I SHALL DEMOLISH ALL THOUGHTS OF YOUR DESTRUCTION. I SHALL MAKE YOU MY RIGHT HAND, MY VIZIER. FEW CAN EVEN IMAGINE SUCH A PROPOSAL, LET ALONE BE OFFERED IT." To many the deal would have been tempting, but by that point I was far past temptation.

"And what of my friends and family?" I asked after the world's shortest second, "And my home? What will become of them?"

"I THOUGHT YOU WOULD ASK SUCH A QUESTION, THOUGH I DON'T SEE THE NECESSITY," the voice sighed. Taking in a breath it said, "MY WARRIORS SHALL RAVAGE AND DESTROY ALL YOU HOLD DEAR. ALL THOSE WHOM HAVE DEFIED ME IN THE PAST SHALL BE TORTURED FOR AN ETERNITY BEFORE THEY DIE. THAT INCLUDES THOSE WHOM YOU HAVE MADE ALLIANCES WITH, AS WELL AS THE OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM. YOUR WORLD SHALL FALL BENEATH MY MALEVOLENT SWAY, AND ALL SHALL CURSE MY NAME, AND THE MOTHERS THAT BORE THEM. EARTH, YUREI, SHALL BE A WORLD OF THE DAMNED."

"And if I refuse!" I asked indignantly. The three were in slack-jawed silence, astonished that anyone could even think of refusing their master.

"THEN YOU SHALL JOIN THEM," he answered indifferently. I was appalled and infuriated by his blatant disregard for innocent lives. Then I did the bravest thing I think I'd ever done in my life. I removed my mask, then spat, outright spat, into the bowl.

As the image wavered I yelled, "Oh yeah! Well you can stick that in your pipe and smoke it!"

"I HAVE A NAME TOO, YUREI NINJA," he said, though his voice was so thickly laden with hatred and malice that I almost flinched, "IN THE ANCIENT SPEECH IT MEANS "KING OF DEMONS". YOU SHOULD KNOW IT BEFORE YOU DIE. I... AM... SASSAMASHIN."

The name itself snapped something in me. I was filled with an insane wrath. I bunched my claws into rock-hard fists, then pulled. A roar unlike anything ever heard by human ears ripped from my throat. A huge blast of energy erupted from my spine, and the chains binding me to the wall felt like paper links as I snapped them.

With three sweeps of my wrathful claws I clove the bowl in half, and disabled both of the two larger ghosts. I was dimly aware of a small thump behind me, and I turned and saw Kara on the ground. She was on her knees, clutching her hands to her face.

For a second I pierced the cloud of rage, and ran.

OOOOO

"PURSUE HIM, OR MASTER WILL EAT US ALIVE!" Amainjir bellowed with rage.

Out of nowhere Lord Sassamashin's voice said, "NO. DO NOT PURSUE HIM. LET US SEE WHAT HE DOES NEXT."

XXXXX

Well people, here it is. The world's days from ending, billions of people may die, and Tir just got the worst Christmas present imagineable.

Tune in next time for Chapter 17!


	17. Chapter 17

Author's note: I don't own DP. Anyone you've never heard of anywhere else though, is all mine.

Thanks to the sleep warrior, darkflame1516, enigmatic penguin and Moss Royal for your lavish reviews.

After this chapter, there should be two more, and an epilogue, and I ask you now, DON'T FORGET THE EPILOGUE!

Chapter 17 (Phase Five: Their Rallying Call)

"You know, when I felt that burst of energy, I didn't realize I'd grown an extra appendage," Tir said as he swept the four feet long lash of a tail that had grown from his behind. It was as big around as my leg at its base, and, as we'd found out, it could very easily crush, and even puncture, steel an inch thick. And it wasn't just strong either, it was very prehensile. It could pick up a piece of paper as easily as a finger and thumb.

"Kind of like a combination between an extra arm and leg, right?" I asked, sitting on a bench by the stairs. Umbrus was asleep beside me, snoring lightly and curled up into a ball.

"Right," he answered, "Though that isn't the main reason I called you all here."

"It's about Kara, isn't it?" Tai asked. Tir froze right where he was. I'd known my little brother his whole life, perhaps longer than he'd known himself, and in those near fifteen years I'd never seen anything affect him like that. I thought dad's death had shaken him. I had an idea of his pain, but I could barely imagine how deeply Kara's betrayal had cut him.

As quickly as he'd frozen up he was speaking again, "Yes. I don't think we need to worry about any more spies, so much as the oncoming storm." We just stared at him in silence as he said, "I've asked Col. Suzuki to be expecting us later. I'll tell you all about it then."

OOOOO

"Okay Yurei," Suzuki said as we sat down at the conference table, "What's this all about?" It might just have been me, but the Colonel seemed much more exercised and relaxed than the last time we'd seen him.

Tir was quiet for a few moments before he said, "It's coming, sir."

What was left of the Colonel's relaxed ambience vanished immediately. "What's coming?" Snow asked. I thought she had at least a vague idea of what Tir was talking about.

"Within weeks, perhaps even days, we'll all be engaged in an interdimensional war," Tir said bluntly. Every pair of eyes in that room widened. "In the brief time yesterday that I was made prisoner I learned of our enemy's movements. As much of the Ghost Zone as he holds sway over is flooded with his minions. For all I know they may already be mobilizing."

"So he means to enslave humanity?" Suzuki asked. If he hadn't learned to trust Tir's every word he would've been skeptical of such an idea.

"Not just humanity," Tir answered, "the planet itself. And we've got to make sure he fails at all costs. He'll attack us here first."

"But why us?" Yashimi, who'd been silent up until that point, asked, "Why not attack a more vulnerable part of the planet?"

"Sassamashin will hit us first for several reasons," Tir answered, "One. I believe that the Ghost Zone is divided into continents, regions, you get the idea, much like our side of the portal. I have a feeling that the ghost portal that made me this way isn't the only one of its kind. When Sassamashin takes control of the area between here and the next ghost portal, he'll use that portal to invade that region of the Ghost Zone, and the pattern is going to keep on going like that until both worlds are under his control."

"Two. This area has by far the largest quantity, as well as the most advanced, ghost-fighting equipment this side of the portal. He'll want his minions to be fresh and topped off at full strength to fight us. If he conquers us, both worlds are doomed."

"And three. He's had his men trying to hunt me town and gut me like a fish for months. It would make sense to him that my end should usher in the world's end. Is that good enough reasoning?"

Everyone nodded their assent, albeit they were a bit surprised by Tir's vivid, if not prudent, assessment of the situation. "We still have to run a few hurdles before we're ready though. Colonel," his gaze met Tir's as Tir asked, "How many spare ghost suits do you have in stock?"

"Five hundred sixty-seven," Hanlin answered for him, "We just don't have the number of spare people to fly them."

"I have a plan to remedy that, though you aren't going to like it at all," he warned, "It'll be risky, and I'll be putting myself at risk in order to pull it off, but it might help." He explained his plan. He was right. We didn't like it.

"I'VE FOUGHT TO PROTECT THESE PEOPLE FOR FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF MY LIFE," Colonel Suzuki roared, "AND I AM NOT GOING TO HAVE THEM SEND THEMSELVES TO THEIR DEATHS, ESPECIALLY NOT UNDER MY COMMAND!"

In the brief time I'd known the Colonel he'd proven to be a very commanding, if temperamental, person, and I'd never seen him that angry. Even Yashimi was shaken. After he got his yelling over and done with, everything was silent for a minute or two.

I think we were all surprised when Tir said, "So you'd have them hide, cowering like terrified mice until they're either killed or enslaved, when there's a slim chance, but a chance none the less, that they could've prevented it?" Suzuki was staring in awed silence as Tir continued, "I've read up on my history, Colonel. The Japanese, when roused, can be among the fiercest fighters the world's ever seen. I once heard of a band of samurai, led by none other than Hitori himself, that numbered only seven hundred in all. But they fought invaders that outnumbered them at least twenty to one, and they defeated them. Partly in credit to Hitori's cleverness, but also because his warriors had the strength and will in each of them to fight any foe. They settled here, Suzuki. That same blood flows in the veins of these people. Believe me I've seen it show more than once." He glanced over at Tai as he said that, and if Tai hadn't had his helmet on I know he would've been blushing.

"I ask only that we meet with the people of this town, tell them what must be done, and let them decide. It's there choice, but I have faith in them. It can't be that hard to find six hundred willing warriors in a town of ten thousand."

"I'm sorry it has to come to this sir, but we have little choice," Tir finished, "Whether we go through with this, however, is your decision."

Suzuki was silent for a long time. He wound one hand over the other and held them under his chin, a totally blank expression on his face.

"Alright," he said after an eternity, "So long as the people are willing, we might as well let them come."

"Thank you sir," Tir said gratefully. Turning to Tai and Umbrus he said, "We'll need a distraction so the military jerks don't rain on our parade. That's your job. It's a Sunday, so there should only be two dispatch teams in town. I'm sure you can handle them." Turning to Suzuki he said, "I'll contact you immediately after the meeting to start setting up defenses against our foes."

As Suzuki nodded his assent Tir turned to me and said, "To you I give perhaps the most important task of all." I stared at him as he said, "You'll be with me. If things go wrong I'll need a strong right hand to back me up. Are you alright with that?"

Almost without thinking I said, "Of course."

"Good," Tir almost smiled, "Then let's begin "Operation WarCall."

OOOOO

"Hey Frank, what's that on radar?" one of the military asked, pointing to a yellow-green blip on the radar screen in their jeep.

"Not a clue, but we'd best check it out, Taul," his partner asked, turning the ignition. "No need, there it is!" They both looked up as a white shape shot past overhead.

"It's that Yurei Ninja! Let's go!"

OOOOO

_Good thing Hanlin let me borrow this white ghost suit,_ Tai thought as he shrieked through the air, weaving a few circles in the sky and waiting for the military jeep to catch up.

OOOOO

"We've gotta nab that pooch and get a tracking device on him, Maurice!"

"I know, Julien, I know, now give me the darn sniper so we can hit him with a tracking device!"

OOOOO

"They're outside city limits, Tir," Tai buzzed in, "Phase two can begin at any time."

"Excellent," Tir said as he strapped the electrodes to his temples, then attached the other ends to the base of the dish's broadcasting system.

"All channels interrupted," Mom called from the back, watching the results on the TV screen, "It's amazing the satellite jamming equipment these people have."

"That said," I cut in, "Let's get their attention."

OOOOO

It was a Sunday afternoon, and Mr. Katsu Hashimi was watching TV in his home.

_I can't wait until tomorrow_, he thought to himself, _not only is it Christmas, but it means a whole two weeks more of studentless slacking off._

He was interrupted from his reverie as his TV's screen went static. He wondered at this for a second before a voice blared into his head, PEOPLE OF HITORI, JAPAN. THE WORLD IS ON THE VERGE OF PERHAPS THE GREATEST EVENT IN HISTORY. COME TO THE RESTORED HALL AND I SHALL TELL YOU MORE. LET NO ONE IN YOUR FAMILY UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN ATTEND.

Mr. Hashimi, almost never one to disobey an order, rose from his seat and thought to himself,

_Well, if this is some sort of prank, then at least it'll happen to everyone. That or no one will see me make a fool of myself._

OOOOO

"So?" I asked as Tir disconnected the electrodes from his head.

"Go see if Tai and Umbrus have still go those twits distracted," he wheezed. I could tell from his tone that it had worked, although he had exerted himself to do so.

OOOOO

The hall was packed, no doubt about it. Everyone in Hitori eighteen and older had decided to attend. Tir really had gotten their attention.

"Well, Shiro," Tir called me by my super hero identity as he rose from his seat behind the curtain, "It's time to spill the beans."

"After you, Yurei," I said, lifting one side of the curtain for him. He nodded in my direction and stepped out, myself following.

"Hey look, it's Yurei Ninja and Shiro Girl!" someone called from the back. At first I couldn't tell whether the person's tone was good or bad, as the military had gone to extreme length to blacken our image as well as Suzuki's.

I was shaken from that doubt as an enormous blast of cheers erupted from our audience. Tir, always the calm one (actually, that was one of the few times he actually was calm in his entire life), simply acknowledged their cheering with a respectful nod and stepped up to the podium and waited until the cheering had ceased.

Finally he called out, "I thank you all for coming this afternoon. However, your enthusiastic cheering isn't really appropriate for the occasion." Whatever chatter there was in the background was silenced as he called out to the masses, "The destiny of our entire world is balanced upon the edge of a knife. An ancient evil is rising. And our town is the first target of its evil."

There was silence as he said, "At this minute my allies are preparing for battle. I don't doubt that they'll fight until the bitter end to protect you, your homes, and your beliefs, but they have supplies extra for close to another six hundred able bodies. They need your help."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until someone said, "Why don't we just leave? Then no one will have to worry about our town."

"My family has lived here for over three hundred years," a woman's voice piped up, "And I don't intend to be part of the generation that abandons it!" Those two comments sparked a full-throated argument. Some people wanted to stay and protect their homes. However, most of those were barely eighteen, and their parents wouldn't have them sacrificing themselves at such a young age.

Most wanted to leave, not realizing that Sassamashin's evil would find them, no matter where they went. Tir wasn't looking too hot either.

His message earlier must have greatly drained him, because he was swaying on his feet. His words from earlier came to me at that moment. _I can't do this alone, Veronica. I need a strong right hand to back me up if things go wrong, and no one I can think of has supported me with more loyalty than you_. I stood up out of my seat and walked up to Tir and grasped him lightly by the shoulder.

"Let your strong right hand go to work, brother." I could see the intense appreciation on his face as he nodded and sat down. Rising to the stand I adjusted the microphone to my height.

I cleared my throat, took hold of the podium in both hands, then roared at the top of my lungs, "QUIET!" The combination of my intense volume magnified a hundred fold, as well as the huge reverb from the microphone itself, got everyone's attention. People an inch away from blows turned their heads and stared.

"Listen to you!" I shouted after the reverb had died out, "The world is on the brink of destruction, and you're all arguing amongst yourselves. I can understand why you're all afraid. I'm afraid of what's yet to come, but am I turning and running, leaving those brave enough to stand and fight to their fate! No!"

"Look around you! Hundreds of years ago these very walls were raised by the band of seven hundred warriors that defeated over ten thousand in the Battle of the End! Those warriors gave their lives to protect their homes, their loved ones, and their world! Their blood flows still! Even over five hundred years later you still carry the spirits of warriors in your past!"

I surprised myself with the authority in my voice as I shouted, "No one holds it against you if you wish to protect your family elsewhere, but, as self-righteous as this sounds, we are your best hope for survival. Help us, and the world may yet see another sunrise over its wondrous lands. What say you, the people!"

There was a moment's silence, then a wave of cheers that set the last one to shame blasted our ears.

As the noise died down I called, "Any able-bodied persons willing to help fight, show up on the northeast side of town tomorrow night. Doctors, find as many assistants as you possibly can and join them. I don't doubt that we'll need you."

OOOOO

Tir was still sitting at the back of the stage. He was breathing heavily, and sweat was running off his hands. Everyone else was gone, so they couldn't see his exhaustion.

Between breaths he rasped, "Thanks, Ronnie. I don't think I could've handled that crowd by myself. Thanks for coming."

"You asked," I replied, "So, now what? We wait to see how many people come and do what we can to help prepare?"

"I've still got one last thing to do," he answered, "And I'll need to call up an old friend so I can get it done."

OOOOO

It was a cool night in the mountains. The stars were out, and the wind sang its lonely song as it weaved in between the massive peaks. The great ghost sat on a hilltop from afar, watching over his new home. Suddenly, something caught his attention.

A short note, shrill and quiet, as if sounded from afar, echoed down the mountainside. It was followed immediately by a longer, lower note. He wondered at its meaning for a moment, until it came again, louder, as if beckoning him.

"It cannot be," he whispered. As he rose to his hoofed feet it dawned on him, "He needs me! He wouldn't have summoned me otherwise!"

OOOOO

"Well, that should get his attention," Tir grinned dryly as he lowered the whistle from his lips. We stood in the clearing, under a starlit night sky.

"I still don't get it, Tir," I asked, confused, "What's the whistle for? Who's coming?"

"You'll be finding out in about three... two... one!" he answered just as a large dark shape landed heavily behind him. Turning around he extended his hand and said happily, "Arrean the boar beast! It's been a while! You haven't changed a bit!"

I was mildly (and when I say mildly I mean shocked) surprised as the huge boar-headed ghost grabbed Tir's hand in a huge gnarled fist and shook it vigorously and replied, "Yurei Ninja! I'd say you haven't changed either, but it would be a blatant lie!"

"Correct, of course," Tir admitted as he held the end of his tail in his free talons, "But I didn't invite you here to tell you about this. Oh, by the way, this is Shiro, my partner in arms."

"Charmed," Arrean bowed with more politeness than his looks would imply, "I thought as much. You wouldn't have summoned me otherwise."

"Naturally," Tir replied, relieved that Arrean had finally released his hand, "I have a task for you."

"What do you wish of me?" Arrean asked, his arms crossed over his huge chest.

"I need you to deliver a message or ten..."

OOOOO

"I hope the old place hasn't changed too much," Arrean said as he vanished from our dimension.

OOOOO

_One day later..._

"So, who called us all here?" a beautiful woman with green skin, long black hair and red eyes asked, "Was it you, bug boy?"

An enormous blue serpent with huge mandibles and red-tinted compound eyes replied, "No. Nor was it the two cats, the samurai, or the weird little grey thing with the eels."

"I have a name!" the little grey ghost piped up. Speaking a bit more calmly he added, "Also it wasn't the guy in the cloak, or the bird."

"Nor was it I," A large ghost in thick silver armor growled, "Now what is our host doing keeping us waiting for?"

"He is no longer," A slim figure stepped out of the shadows, as if he had just appeared there. Despite his physical mutations, it took the assembled ghosts no more than a second to identify their arch foe.

"YOU!" they roared, immediately ready to throttle him into the ground.

"Go ahead, kill me," he said calmly, holding his arms wide, "Kill me and you'll never get your lairs back." Immediately their anger subsided, replaced by mild surprise. They didn't have any idea how he could've known they were all of a more nomadic nature at the moment.

"You're all aware of the threat of Sassamashin, I presume?" he paused as they all nodded. "He's seized your lairs and booted you out into the barren wastes of the Ghost Zone. Naturally you all want revenge." Again he was answered by the nods that went all the way around the table in the middle of the room. "I can help you, but you must be willing to work a little."

They were silent as he continued, "As few of you know my home has been under siege by Sassamashin's minions for some time. He'll be launching his legions upon us in weeks, perhaps days. At the moment, we've got only a couple thousand people defending that town, armed with ghost-fighting equipment. I don't doubt that they'll make as much a fight of it as they can, but they'll be over whelmed in under a day."

"The first thing I need to know: does anyone have an accurate count of Sassamashin's forces?"

The room was silent for a moment before the ghost in silver armor answered, "Sassamashin offered me a place in his army, in exchange that he release me from my prison, no more than a week or two ago. He told me that within two weeks he'd have well over fifteen thousand at his back, and he'd launch an assault on the mortal world. I could have any hundred square miles I wanted, so long as I defeated ten times as many humans in my time of service."

"Kitaiyou, it's been a while," Yurei nodded his head, "You've changed your appearance. Looks more fourteenth-century European than the last one."

"I have taste in armor," he replied curtly, "However, you still haven't told us your plan so worthy of our attention."

_Fifteen thousand_, Yurei thought to himself, _Well, at least the odds are about the same._

"Before I tell you, how about you all introduce yourselves? I'm sure you've all heard of me." They growled in response. He nodded at the ghost sitting on his right side, and he began to speak.

"I am Tarra, tiger of darkness, and my sister is Tanna, tigress of light," the great cat nodded to the elegant feline beside him.

"I'm Typhonus, Serpent of the Ancient Seas," the huge beast rasped through his slimy jaws.

"I'm Meiyorn, hunter of a thousand ghosts," he rose, hood up over his warped eye, "And Aile Garde is my friend and ally."

"Hey, Dynastina, Sorceress of the Unholy Flame, yaddayaddayadda," she said nonchalantly, as tongues of flame burned away what little grime existed beneath her nails.

"Black Fist, Lord of all Technologies, both evil and beneign," he rose as he formed a cup holder from one hand.

"Kitayou," he said as he placed his cup in Black Fist's "hand", "Greatest warrior of all ancient Japan."

"**And I am Eunagi Yurei!"** the stubby grey ghost made an eel appear from thin air and slapped it against the far wall, an inch from striking Dynastina's head, **"Master of all things slimy, legless and gross!" **

"Hey!" Typhonus grated threateningly as everyone else stared skeptically at Eunagi Yurei.

"And these four," Yurei said as he opened a door behind him, "Are my closest partners," indicating Shiro and Haiiro-kun, Umbrus, and Arrean. "If they give you an order, follow it," he said sternly, "And remember that I'm only wiping Sassamashin out for my own means. You can all just as easily be removed from the battlefield. With a thousand trained soldiers nearby it wouldn't be that hard."

"Relax, this is just a temporary alliance," he added, seeing the highly displeased looks they were giving him, "You can go on hating and hunting me, but after this battle's over."

"Who's in?" At first they were all silent. Then Kitaiyou slowly raised his hand. Without a word Shiro handed Yurei a scroll, who then presented it to Kitaiyou. "Sign it."

Kitaiyou stared at the parchment for a few seconds, studying it, then wrote his name in red. After a second Dynastina raised her hand, and without even looking zapped her name onto the parchment with one finger.

Within a few moments nine names were signed on the script, and it was passed back to Yurei, who tied it with a white scripted ribbon, then sealed it with a stamp similar to a gargoyle's head.

"It is done. Very well then. I've requested that quarters be prepared for you, each with a motif to suit its owner. You'll remain there until you are called into action. Understood?"

They all nodded as a door in the wall opened for each of them. As they left Yurei called after them, "I'll brief you more thoroughly on my plan tomorrow. Until then, prepare yourselves, and try as much as you can to relax beforehand."

As the doors shut behind each of them, Yurei sighed, "I hope I'm doing the right thing."

XXXXX

And so yet another chapter ends. And finally, after so long a wait, the board is set for the greatest battle of our time. Soon the game shall begin! Shall earth be among the defiant, or the damned? The final phase begins in Chapter 18!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own DP.

Thanks to all of you reviewers out there. The sequel to this story, "The D Factor", isn't starting for a little while yet. Once I've seen "Reign Storm" and TUE, you'll be seeing it soon after.

Sorry if this chapter seems short, but it's basically just a prep. for the next couple chapters afterwards. The others'll be longer, trust me.Here's chapter 18!

Chapter 18 (Final Phase: The Storm Approaches)

"THE TIME HAS COME, MY WARRIORS," Sassamashin grated, "THE WHITE GHOST HAS PLAGUED MY PRESENCE FOR TOO LONG. NOW HIS FALL MUST COME!"

Howls of approval and bloodlust greeted his ears as the creatures he towered over worked themselves into a frenzy.

"A NEW POWER IS RISING, AND ITS VICTORY IS AT HAND!" he roared, "THIS DAY, THE LANDS SHALL BE STAINED WITH THE BLOOD OF JAPAN! FLY TO HITORI! LEAVE NONE ALIVE!"

He waited a moment as the noise died down slightly, then roared, **"TO WAR!"**

OOOOO

"Okay, here's my plan," I said, laying out a map of my battle strategy, "It's been one solid week of training and preparation, and Sassamashin will be attacking within days, possibly hours. So let's run over our battle plan once more."

"Dynastina, you and Black Fist take charge of Arms 1. Typhonus, you're in charge of the 5th Seige Unit. Strike at the largest mass of enemies you can detect."

"Tarra and Tanna, provide support wherever it's needed most. Meiyorn, you're in charge of Fighter Squad 2, and stick to flyby attacks in weak areas."

"Eunagi, you and Haiiro-kun take control of the 3rd infantry battalion. Shiro, Umbrus, Arrean and Kitaiyou are with me."

"I don't need to stress how important this battle is. Not just one world relies on our victory, but both of them. Which is why I'm giving you each these," I handed each of them a small collar, "So long as your more evil intentions remain bent on the enemy, these are going to magnify your powers tenfold."

"And if we turn on our own forces?" Dynastina asked as she traced a finger around the engraved logo on the metal clip of the collar.

"Then you'll get sucked right back into the Ghost Zone," I answered flatly. As they attached their collars I asked, "Kitaiyou, if you would come with me a moment?"

I opened the door and let him pass through first. I closed the door behind us and said, "You've grown stronger since our last meeting?"

"The power you used to defeat me the last time we met wouldn't save you now," he answered cryptically, a hand on the butt of his sword, "Though given your... "altered" appearance, I would assume correctly that you no longer rely on that power alone, would I not?"

"You would," I replied. I paced to the opposite side of the room and watched a small school of fish swimming around the aquarium.

"Normally I wouldn't dare ask this of you, Kitaiyou, but I require a guide. Someone who will lead me directly to Sassamashin himself."

"You want me to guide you into his waiting claws?" Kitaiyou asked, a certain tone of surprise in his voice. I nodded, and he answered, "Very well. Now, given that there will be a battle going on here, I presume that you'll choose that time to disembark?"

"You know my plans almost as well as I do," I replied, turning to face him. Before I could blink his sword flicked out and rested lightly on my throat. Unfortunately I noticed that his neck didn't have its collar on.

"Understand this," Kitaiyou said with a flat hiss in his voice, "Sassamashin is a thousand times stronger than you could ever imagine. There is a very good reason his name means "King of Demons". We have one chance at destroying him, and I don't intend for you to screw it up. If you die, we're all doomed, and that's just where your confidence is going to get us. Treat him as he should be treated. Understood?" I understood why Kitaiyou was saying this, which was why I didn't deal him harm.

"Yes. I understand."

"Good," he said dryly, sheathing his sword, "Then let us steel ourselves for war."

I'll never forget the moment he said that.

OOOOO

"You called me, Hanlin?" I asked as I emerged from the elevator shaft. I would've just flown down, but the walls were phase-proof, and for good reason.

"Yes, sir," Hanlin said, eyeing me over his glasses, "I'd just like to introduce you to an old friend..."

OOOOO

The stares I received as I entered the stadium, now with a removable announcement platform, told me what I already knew. I was armed and armored for the battle that would shake the world to its knees, and not one person there, from the lowliest foot soldier to the mightiest specter, doubted it.

"MY FRIENDS, MY ALLIES," my voice boomed across the space, "MY KIN, THE TIME HAS COME. THE TEST OF MAN'S QUALITY IS UPON US. A GREAT EVIL FALLS UPON OUR LAND, AND IT IS UP TO US TO DEFEND IT!"

My pronouncement was greeted with a huge roar of approval as two thousand voices thundered on my ears.

I waited for the cheers to die before I began again, "I WILL MAKE NO FALSE PRETENSE. NOT ALL OF US WILL SURVIVE THIS BATTLE. I, AND THOSE ACCOMPANYING ME LEAST OF ALL."

A murmur of confusion rippled through the people below. Aside from those I that were coming with me and a select few others, I hadn't told anyone of our plans.

"WHILE YOU, MY STALWART PEOPLE, DEFEND OUR HOME FROM THE SCOURGE OF SASSAMASHIN'S RATS, I AND THOSE FEW ACCOMPANYING ME WILL LAUNCH AN ATTACK UPON THE DEMON HIMSELF!"

For a moment, all was silence. Then a voice shouted from the back, "So you risk your life to save our home, so we will risk our lives to make sure you have a home to return to!"

"AIYE!" they yelled so loud that the room shook.

"FOR HUMANITY!" I yelled. They replied immediately, "FOR HUMANITY!"

"NOW FOR VENGEANCE, NOW FOR VICTORY, AND THE RED DAWN," I howled, my zeal spilling over as I yelled, _**"NO SURRENDER!"**_

OOOOO

With my speech delivered enormously well, things got hectic. Everyone was stationed at their posts, ready for the coming battle.

Suzuki showed up himself, ready to do what his rank gave him the right to do. I was impressed with his authority, but I was impressed even more so by those I was to save.

Under my command were two thousand men, with spirit amounting to ten times that number, each and every one willing to give his life to save our world. All we had to do was wait.

OOOOO

"YES, COME TO ME, MY PRIZE, COME TO YOUR DESTINY..."

OOOOO

"Tir!" I was shaken lightly, and awoke to find Ronnie shaking me into wakefulness. "It's almost time."

I stood up and watched the horizon. The world seemed so different at daybreak. The moon was just setting as I made my way to the front.

Umbrus greeted me, garbed in his own suit, the _Hellhound_.As I approached the frontlines I removed my mask, admiring the view, although my eyes were telling me what I needed to know. They were close.

The silence was intense as the sky turned brighter in the east. A tension that was so thick you could cut it with a knife settled over the entire valley. Not a sound was made.The people that had once filled the streets with bustle and activity were gone, having been evacuated over a week past. The entire area was as silent as the grave.

It was then that I realized it. So few would survive this ordeal that the town of Hitori would become a tomb. A tomb for the two thousand warriors it now contained.

The sun rose red. As it ascended further into the sky I could see them, flying low to the ground. The winged vermin of the Underworld. Small creatures as they were their numbers were enormous. The sky was thick with them in the east and north.

"Hold your ground!" commanders roared in the background to their troops. Soon the sky was filled with cawing and screeching cries, the like of which I'd never even heard before.

The birds flew closer, their screeching cries flooding our ears, until they were just within reach...

"NOW!" Suzuki roared. The sky was ablaze as fifty huge explosions blew hundreds of the birds to pieces.When the light cleared, however, there were still many more birds to destroy, despite the fact we'd eliminated two thirds of their fighting force in one moment.

I immediately turned to those coming with me and said, "We'd best get moving while those demon birds are distracted!"

We mobilized under cover of battle.

XXXXX

And so the battle begins! The climactic clash of the titans is under way! Finally the sword is drawn! But upon whom shall the sword fall? Find out in Chapter 19, coming soon to a computer near you!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own DP, or my character would be rockin' the world in some form or another.

Ah yes, Chapter 19: The great two-part clash ending _The First Portal_. Chapter 20 should come soon (Don't forget the epilogue)!

Chapter 19 (Final Phase: Part One)

"Wait until they're upon us!" Suzuki roared over the melee. Drawinga beam blade he raised it high over his head. The winged beasts screeched with rage. As small as they were they still outnumbered us by more than two-to-one.

"Wait!" He repeated. The screeching little furies bunched themselves up, then dove with lightning speed. The wind itself screamed as they shot down to earth. All at once Suzuki's arm dropped as he shouted "Fire!"

In addition to two thousand anti-ghost beam rifles being fired into their ranks, the impressive powers of eight ghosts blasted through them, as did two high-power laser turrets stationed behind the front. When the smoke and debris cleared, all that was left were a few scraps of wing membrane left behind by the flying creatures. There was a moment of silence. Most believed it was too good to be true. They threw their helmets into the air and cheered. Suzuki even allowed himself a half-smile before the low, dreaded battlehorn of a demon army descended upon the defenders.

"LEAVE NONE FREE, MY BROTHERS!" the rasping howl of Inuhi's voice sounded over the hills as three thousand hellhounds descended into the valley below.

OOOOO

We flew with great speed. The valleys, hills and small towns below flew by like blurs as we headed north. Arrean, despite his great girth, kept his lead the whole time, partly because he was the one who knew the route to our destination, and partly because he was faster than he looked. We crossed the channel between Honshu and Hokkaido, flying close enough to the water that the fish and marine life below were only inches away.

Then we struck land again, and we blazed ahead over a more wild land than the one we'd left. Even humanity can only extend so far into what Mother Nature has deemed her own.

It wasn't until we reached the mountains that we started to slow down. Fortunately, Ronnie knew how to eat on the fly (literally) and in ghost form I didn't require food. It took a short while, but we were able to find the place.

As we descended, so many memories came rushing back that I nearly fell out of the air. The others glanced at me, and I steadied myself. When our feet touched the ground we approached the small rise, and at its top it showed a hollowed-out bowl in the mountainside, which led in turn to the low mouth of a cave.

The image of this place had been burned into my memory. I must have started shaking or something, because Ronnie came up behind me and asked, "Are you willing to face him?" I froze when she said that, because I didn't know who she meant.

I answered as I stepped onto the stone I'd meditated on in what felt like a time so long ago I could barely remember it. All I said was, "This is where it all began, sister, and this is where it shall end." I stepped down into the bowl, and after a little bit of slipping and sliding on the loose ground, I was face to face with the cave of my worst nightmares.

I had entered here only once before, and the experience had left me blind and half-dead, inside and out. Sweat poured off me as I decided whether or not to take the final step. After that, there would be no turning back. For the first time in a long time, I prayed, _Lord help us all_. Not the sort of thing a Pope would offer under such circumstances (he might try the last rights though), but it helped me take that step on worn, leathery feet. I ducked my head as I entered the chamber.

At first, like before, all was darkness. Then, as the lights came on from Ronnie's suit, I beheld a living nightmare that made my last one pale in comparison. Though long since dried and cracked away, his remains had never left the chamber.

"I swear," I murmured softly, "That if we survive this he won't stay in this place a second longer than he has to."

"Let us go," Kitaiyou said impatiently, "The portal is just around the corner." My head snapped up. I just hope that the only thing I had ever truly feared and hated wasn't around that bend either. Once again, I went first around the corner.

This time, there was no being of evil. The portal thrummed with a muted tone as two whorls of green danced across its surface. So much had happened since that fateful night It was almost like a distant dream, and here I was, about to take my first step into another world.

"Well," I said with a dry laugh in my voice as I stepped one foot into the green-hued plasma, "See ya on the other side."

OOOOO

The beasts flew down the hills as if they sprinted after their first food in weeks. Who's to say, maybe they were. Each was a hound of bright blue flames, as large as a small cow, with bulging muscles and gaping red eyes. Their ravenous howls ripped through the air onto the ears of their quarry. Even the most practiced veterans, whom had seen many a ghost up close and personal, were shaken by the frenzied beasts. Only Suzuki's orders, Tai's unexpected calmness, and, most surprising of all, the ghosts on their side of the front, kept them calm.

Black Fist, reunited with his precious Arbiter, looked on with eager anticipation. Dynastina stood beside him, murmuring ancient incantations to herself.

"Come, hounds of hell!" Black Fist almost squealed with delight, "feast your flesh on my cold blade!"

"Fire!" Suzuki yelled over the ravening beasts fast approaching their front lines. Lasers and ecto-shells blasted into the air, some missing and hitting the ground, others finding their targets, but most were either cancelled entirely or caught glancing blows against the hellhounds' thick flaming hides.

"Blow the mines!" Suzuki roared as the beasts came closer still. Several explosions ripped through the air as mines laid out across the plain detonated, sending several hundred of their foes to kingdom come. As the beasts came even closer Suzuki roared, "Deploy the Juex units!"

All other sound was blotted out as almost fifteen hundred red, black and white ghost suits were activated and screamed into the air. Each was a tested product of the original three: the Praetor, the Judicator and the Executor. The armor on their main bodies was black, whilst the armor on their limbs and heads was white, each equipped with a red flight pack on its back and extended hexagonal shield. Whilst they weren't so heavily armed or armored as their predecessors (for mass production purposes), they still had a lot of power behind them. Nuclear reactors have that effect.

As the Juex soldiers moved just behind the frontlines, Suzuki roared, "Seige weapons, fire!" A volley of high-powered missiles streaked through the air, then landed and struck the ground ahead of their targets. "Turrets, fire!" he bellowed as four green lazer blasts raked an arc through the enemy battlelines.

"Alright son, I'll order one more heavy weapons volley, then you do your thing," as his eyes turned to Eunagi Yurei, he nearly vomited as he added, "And take him with you."

"Yes, sir," Tai answered zealously, "Smoke 'em and stroke 'em, boys!"

Tai bellowed, activating the Judicator's OS. With one arm he easily hefted the enormous gatling gun that served as the Judicator's second greatest weapon and lifted off the ground. As he was just about to open fire, something pinged off his armor. He looked up to see three enormous carriers deploying ghost suits by the truckload. These suits were a dark green, and seemed a bit clunkier than the ones our forces had. Each had a visor, unlike ours, and a single red eye in the centre.

"Strike 'em down boys, I'll be with you shortly," an all-too familiar voice buzzed over all frequencies as the enormous viewscreen on one of the carriers went staticky, then cleared as the leering grin of Mallen glared down onto the battlefield below.

OOOOO

"Okay Kitaiyou, where are we?" I asked as we were faced with a strange green void. **_THERE IS NO LIFE_**, a dark, terrible voice echoed through my mind, **_IN THE VOID. ONLY DEATH_**.

I forced myself to stay level-headed as Kitaiyou replied, "Through the First Portal, we must head towards the center of this region of the Ghost Zone. Stay close, for since this place is hostile even during relatively stable times. In the state of unrest Sassamashin has forced it into, we should be doubly careful. If you get lost I cannot help you, so stay together."

Once again we flew like the wind, or we would have been if there were any wind in the Ghost Zone. Numerous doors flew by, slowly floating off into the depths of nothingness. Many were scarred and badly damaged, some with chunks missing.

"Kitaiyou?" I asked, "What are all of these doors for?"

"Having never even entered the Ghost Zone, you wouldn't know," he nodded understandingly. He then explained, "Much like the houses in the living world, each door opens up into a ghost's own lair. Every ghost is entitled to such a lair by choice, once they enter the afterlife. Sassamashin has thrown all of the old ways to the winds. He ravages and destroys all in his path, even the homes of his own. It is for this, child, that I fight. I understand that you fight for a similar goal in your own world. I may dislike your choice, but I do respect it."

That was the first time I had ever heard someone whom had beaten me to within an inch of my life praise me. It was a strange feeling. I stopped flying as my eyes spasmed badly. Something was near. Something very, very powerful.

"We've got company," I said as a lone shape dropped towards us like a falcon. We shifted out of the way as the huge ghost that had served as Kaminara's servant twisted around to face us.

"I AM AMAINJIR, STEWARD OF SUFFERING. LORD SASSAMASHIN HAS DECIDED THAT YOU GO NO FURTHER, LEST HE HAVE TO DESTROY YOU HIMSELF."

"Go on ahead," Arrean growled, "I've got business to attend to."

"We must resume," Kitaiyou warned impatiently, "We have little enough time as it is, and we are not so far from our destination as I had thought." As I turned around to follow Kitaiyou I saw Arrean and Amainjir slowly circle each other in a dance of afterdeath.

OOOOO

They descended quickly. I knew that Tir and the others were quick, with or without their suits, but these guys were fast. I heard through my helmet, "Suzuki to Judicator, I'm sending up the vanguard. You alright?"

I lifted my weapon, then screamed up through the air, in between my foes, deploying my weapon pods as I went. Whipping around faster than the eye could see I fired my massive weapon. Although I was outnumbered about three hundred to one, I put enough holes in many of those suits not to have to worry too severely about them as they dropped from the sky. I hadn't realized it before, but as fast as those suits were, their armor was next to useless against my weapons. As I dropped through them, slicing machines easily in half with my beam blade, I realized that I was mutilating living human beings. The thought horrified me, and I froze.

I regretted that mistake instantly as several thousand shells pounded into the back of my suit. I turned around and watched in dismay as my twelve drones detonated, with their controls having been damaged. I felt like I was just about to perish for sure just when an enormous barrage of lasers, missiles and a multitude of ghost shells blew up an enormous portion of the enemy suits.

"Need a little help, rookie?" Sergeant Snow's cheery voice sounded as a huge red and blue beam destroyed another pocket of the enemy machines.

"Thanks," I answered as Yashimi's Praetor flew up behind Snow, "There's still more coming. If we can distract these guys, then the laser turrets on the ground can destroy the carriers. You two up for a challenge?"

"Yes ma'am," both Snow and I answered simultaneously. Then, to our surprise, Eunagi Yurei dropped out of nowhere and asked, "May my slimy friends and I join in your joyous destruction of the enemy?"

"Uh, sure," Yashimi said as she fired off another blast.

"Yes!" Eunagi raised his hands into the air, and hundreds, I mean hundreds, of white eels with dark green fins appeared. At some unseen signal they flew upwards, towards the strange ghost suits overhead.

"Fire away!" Eunagi yelled, "Though they can't harm the enemy, they can cover for you three!"

"Gotcha!" I answered as I screamed off into the fray. Most were so distracted by the Eunagi, even though they could deal no harm, that they never saw me coming. Either way, my blade and shield were in hand. Just as the last of them were wiped out, a huge energy blast just missed me. I whipped around and beheld three machines making right for us.

One was an assortment of different blues, equipped with two hulking wings that curved forward attached behind its shoulders, and a lance. The second was white and grey, with what looked like three rocket jets attached to its back. Unlike the other two, this one was standing on a small platform that seemed to be keeping it in the air. On its right arm it was equipped with a large lazer sniper and a red and white shield on its left, as well as a lazer cannon on its chest. The third was a bright orange with a red body, with what looked like an eagle's wing feathers, spread out behind it. It had a pair of railguns on its hips, a shield on its left arm, and a large mace in place of its right hand.

"So, you like my new toys?" Mallen's voice cackled as a small black dot appeared in the sky, "Rather than using mutinous human operators in these suits I decided to simply create robots in their stead. Behold the Shikoku, the Kyoku and the Hokkaido!"

"And last, but certainly not least," his voice cracked as a final machine appeared, "the Honshu."

It was an abomination. A beast even! It was covered in thick black armor. One arm was gripping an enormous laser rifle, whilst the other was loaded with enormous projectile lances. Across its entire form was a vastarsenal of weapons.

"This is bad," I muttered as our three foes closed in, leaving their master to his own devices.

OOOOO

Things were not going well for us ground forces. Though our main forces were about evenly matched, Black Fist and Tantarra were both destroyed, slain by the fearsome three commanders of the hellhound legion, Ninjutsa, Sorrento and the infamous Inuhi. Only Typhonus, whom was ordering the destruction of the three transports overhead, Eunagi Yurei, whom was occupied with the new enemy troops overhead, Meiyorn, flyby-striking enemy forces, and myself, Dynastina, Lady of Flames, remained. My entire unit, save myself, was gone, so I was trying to think of a way to eliminate the three commanders.

"Uh," I groaned, fingering the collar around my neck, "whether I like it or not I'm going to have to feed soon, and if I take away the dark feelings of our troops, they might not be willing to fight anymore. Think, think, think..." Then it came to me. Why drain my resources when I could drain theirs? I

shot across the battlefield, as low as I dared, and spread my hands, absorbing all the anger and hatred I could from the hellhounds. And, since a hellhound is by nature comprised of hatred, they simply vaporized once I sucked them dry. After a mere moment my powers were at their peak. I turned and looked at the three. My primary threat was Ninjutsa. I wouldn't survive long against her ghost sword.

"Eunagi!" I called. It took him a moment, after he zapped down from his high altitudes, "I need a distraction..."

OOOOO

We circled one another with such slowness that time seemed to slow down. I was well aware of Amainjir's strength. That guy was what normal ghosts call a "demon" spirit, cursed with enormous power and no soul. Even with my strength multiplied by ten it would be a very close match.

Something I noticed was that I could see a faint white outline around Amainjir. Even as I realized this the outline shifted and warped, to be replaced by two snarling dragons' heads extending from Amainjir's back. One of them flicked out like a cobra, almost faster than the eye could see. I shifted to one side and wrapped my whip around its neck.

With an expert twist I snapped it back at Amainjir, so that the first head slammed into the second. A look of surprise appeared on the dragons' faces.

"YOU HAVE GROWN SINCE LAST WE MET ON THE BATTLEFIELD. THE LAST TIME YOU SIMPLY RETREATED."

"If I recall," I growled back, "The battlefield was my home, and you had your three hundred cowards with you, so it really wasn't a fair assessment of my strength."

The heads immediately reformed, and were replaced by two enormous fists. Immediately I snapped to one side to avoid one fist, then caught the second in my hands. I thrust it to one side, then snapped my whip out with great speed. The tiny hook on its end ripped a large gash in his arm. It was accompanied by a hideous screech. I covered my ears and squinted my eyes to try and block out the sound. When I opened them again, Amainjir stood before me, though this time there was no aura, no creatures of illusion, just him.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED," he hissed, drawing a long, pointed sword from its sheath. The blade was a dull green, with blotches of black across its surface.

"So now we fight," I growled as he slowly leveled his blade at me.

OOOOO

The shattered remains of the Ghost Zone were a blur all around us as we flew. Ronnie looked down on the desolation and murmured, "This could be Hitori..."

"Never!" I growled, "Not so long as I draw breath." The Ghost Zone was having a strange effect on me. I couldn't explain it, but something inside me just didn't feel quite right. Like when Tai once put a piece of bleu cheese in my taco.

Tai. I was starting to worry about him, and everyone else at that moment. _He's still alive_, I told myself, _Someone who used to be such a jerk can't be defeated that easily._

"We have company!" Kitaiyou said, drawing his sword as the female ghost drew near.

"FACE ME!" She growled, "FACE SUMAEIYA, DAUGHTER OF DEATH, OR FACE THE WORLD'S DESTRUCTION."

"I'll fighther," Kitaiyou said menacingly, drawing his sword, "I've faced tougher foes in my time. You three carry on! He's only a short ways to the east!"

OOOOO

The battle was fierce, and those machines were not holding back. I was facing the Hokkaido, the orange machine with the mace, Snow was facing the Shikoku, the machine with the rocket packs on its back, and Yashimi was fighting the Kyushu, the machine with the large curving wings and the lance. I wasn't faring too well. My gun had been rendered useless thanks to the mace the Hokkaido kept blasting at me. With a couple of brief glances I realized that Snow and Yashimi weren't faring too well either.

Yashimi's blast cannon was useless against the huge armored wings her opponent kept using, and she couldn't get very close for fear of being impaled by her opponent's lance. Snow, while she was faring a bit better, wasn't doing so by much. The "rockets" on her opponent's back were similar to the pods I was acquainted with, and its speed and power in general was impressive. The mace my foe was using was really starting to tick me off, so I finally dashed in as fast as I could, and just as the mace came out, being attached to the machine by means of a strong wire so it could be reused, I flipped to one side and with a quick slash I severed it.

While the machine still had railguns, it wasn't nearly so powerful. Slanting upwards just as I came close, I immediately thrust down and just as the machine was turning around, I sliced it in half with one stroke of my beam sword. Turning I immediately saw Snow being overwhelmed by her multiple opponents. In a second I was there, slashine at two of the pods hindering her. Immediately the machine shifted its attention between us, which is what I'd intended. With one quick movement Snow sliced off its legs, then severed its head with two fine strokes. Just as we turned we saw Yashimi's suit impaled by her opponent's lance. As she fell she aimed her cannon one last time and fired, blowing the Kyushu to pieces.

"_NO_," Snow cried out. Turning towards Mallen's deadly machine she immediately deployed her backpack and blasted its entire arsenal. When the smoke cleared Mallen's machine barely even seemed fazed. "But how?" Snow asked in awe.

"PR armor, the toughest substance on the planet," Mallen said cruelly over the intercom, "There's not a thing your suits can do to this machine."

We were interrupted by two large blasts from below. One caught the Honshu in the side, the other struck the arm that wielded its javelin missiles, destroying the arm. "What!" Mallen's voice choked in surprise as a new machine flew into the sky alongside us. It was an impressive sight.

A great red machine seemed to brighten the afternoon sky. Huge violet wings extended from its back, and a great ring of dark metal encompassed its chest. Huge beam knives were sheathed on its wrists, and sharp spines erupted from its feet. A shield was attached to its left arm, bristling with vicious spines and an intimidating cannon in its centre as it wielded a huge energy rifle in its right hand. A massive cannon was mounted in its chest, with a pair of beam swords on its hips. A massive plasma cannon arched over each shoulder, each matched by a folded railgun mounted just over each hip. It seemed the perfect engine of destruction. Its green eyes, as well as the green crest mounted on its forehead, shone with determination, or reflected sunlight, I'm not sure. But its powerful ambience filled the air with calm in the strife.

A voice, though I had heard it a hundred times before, boomed with such tremendous strength as to make me shiver with every syllable as he exclaimed, "Mallen! Your service here is no longer required, nor was it ever!"

He had appeared strong outside his suit, but Suzuki now had a body to justify his mighty spirit. I had never imagined him with such strength before. "Stay back, you two," he said, lowering his voice ever so slightly, "This is between him and me."

With that the wings on his suit's opened wide, then almost seemed to ripple as huge plumes of heat blasted from them, blasting Suzuki towards his arch foe.

OOOOO

"Rally to me!" I cried, extending my staff to the sky, "Rally, my warriors! COME TO ME OR YOU SHALL FALL!" That last cry caught their attention. As our forces retreated I blasted into Eunagi's head, "NOW!" Almost at once Typhonus's huge body rippled.

His normally smooth, slimy hide dried, and was covered by an infinite number of tiny armor plates. His entire length grew as long, pointed, steel-hard segmented legs erupted from his sides all the way up to the base of his neck, so he said, and back to the base of his tail. Two long, mantice-like claws erupted from under his collarbone as a long, spined, frilled crest extended from its peak at the top of his head to the end of his tail. One of his huge mandibles formed ashiny, armored jaw, jagged as ifit had fangs, whilst the other was rough like sandstone. His huge, slavering jaws seemed almost unreal. It was a good thing he was on our side or I wouldn't have been able to stop him, arcane powers or no. Man, Eunagi can sure surprise you when you least expect. He really came through this time.

"Distraction scene, take 1!" I shouted as Typhonus steeled himself. As I lowered my staff those soldiers that had returned (good for them) stared in awe as I shouted, "Action!"

OOOOO

Amainjir glared at me contemptuously, his sword glimmering in the dark, dark mists of a broken land. "SO," he glowered, slowly raising his sword, "NOW WE TEST YOUR WORTH."

"So we do," I shot back, "But what think we lend ourselves a favorable battleground?"

"VERY WELL," he conceded, holding out one hand. All of the doors in the surrounding area flew towards us, forming a flat plain of ancient lumber. Some small patches of the abyss below showed through, but it was serviceable. I was immediately snapped from my reverie as Amainjir's elbow crashed into my head.

I alighted on the battlefield below with a slightly dazed cranium as Amainjir touched down lightly, a slight grin of contempt on his horrid visage. Immediately my whip flicked out, snapping and cracking in a dozen places at once. It was no good. Immediately Amainjir stepped on its end and severed it with one quick slash of his blade.

With unnatural speed he shot forward and raised his sword for the killing blow...

OOOOO

Sumaeiya and I circled one another, each of us assessing the other, trying to pinpoint each other's strengths and weaknesses. Her blows came fast as her twin swords pinged off my katana. All I could do was meet each blow as it came. Finally, my opportunity came.

Ihad lunged forward with a powerful cleave, which she caught in a cross block. We held a stalemate for a few seconds before I thrust myself forwards, knocking her off balance as my fist crashed into her stomach. I raised my sword high over my head, and brought it down with an enormous blast. Few would have been lucky or strong enough to survive it.

As the blast cleared I realized that Sumaeiya had raised her twin swords just in time to block my Taisencha's attack.

"YOU ARE STRONG, SPIRIT OF THE SWORD," she said emotionlessly, raising herself higher into the air, "BUT EVEN YOUR MIGHTY BLADE IS NO MATCH FOR MY POWER." Even as she finished speaking her form split into four, no five, separate entities, each as malicious as the original.

"So, you have chosen oblivion," I said darkly as I lowered the mask on my kabuto, revealing the visage of a vicious Japanese lung, or dragon. Gripping the base of my Taisencha's sheath I drew it from my sash and held it in my left hand. And so the hammer fell...

OOOOO

We flew like the wind, dashingup an enormous incline that seemed to blossom out of the abyss far below. There was a light green glow at its top, so I had a feeling we were headed in the right direction. Suddenly, out of nowhere, three grey shades pulled themselves out of the cliffside and faced us. They had batlike wings, no legs, and snarling, vampirebat faces with short pointed tongues.

"NONE MAY PASS THE BROKEN ONES," one of them threatened. The second one spoke, "YOU SHALL REST FOREVER WITH US."

As the third simply nodded in agreement, Ronnie said, "Umbrus and I can take care of these dunderheads. Now get moving!"

OOOOO

With every last ounce of strength in my body I flew. In an instant Ronnie and Umbrus were far below, battling the three grusome beasts. I felt guilty for leaving them, but I had to keep moving.

Finally, after an eon of flying, I cleared the top of the incline, and what I saw took my breath away. A miniature mountain of grey rock rose up from the middle of a craggy plateau. Red mist circled its peak as black lightning streaked all around its warped features.

"If he had a sign saying "Sassamashin's lair: Enter and Die", it couldn't be more obvious," I murmured to myself as I flicked my tail in contempt and flew down towards the wide cave entrance at the mountain's base. As I approached a huge swarm of demon birds flew from the mountain's crags towards me.

"Out of my way!" I yelled as I merged my twin swords and ripped them to shreds without so much as slowing down. I touched down just outside the entranceway and sprinted into the tunnel. It was much taller than the outside indicated, and it glowed a sickly light blue.

Torches of green flames hung from the ceiling, though I didn't need their help navigating through the tunnels. I turned right at the next split, ran up a long spiral staircase, plunged down a steep ramp, and stopped just outside a vast chamber. Warily I tensed every muscle in my body, then stepped out into the vast chamber.

The chamber was enormous! I couldn't even see the ceiling, and it extended out a tremendous distance in all directions. The ground itself was a sort of pale purple colour with the same strange blue glow as in the tunnels, and some rocks were even floating in the air, some a couple of inches off the ground, others were high over my head. About a hundred feet away from the entrance to the chamber the floor plunged straight down into the darkness, where not even the strange glow of the chamber could pierce it. On the opposite wall was what looked like white stone, with huge black spiderlines along its surface.

Stepping to the very edge of the cliff I dug my claws deep into the rock, then howled at the top of my voice, "SASSAMASHIN!" For a long moment, all was silent. I could feel the tension building as the warmth of the chamber was drained away. The moist rhime on the walls and floor actually froze solid as something moved from deep within the abyss. Something big.

I felt cold and alone as a dark form rose from the depths, and whatever was left of the warmth in my heart drained away, and replaced with dread and despair. I could feel it. I could feel pure evil radiating from his very being. My whole body shook as he said those words which I shall never forget as long as I live: "**WELCOME, TO YOUR DOOM**."

XXXXX

And so ends part one of the epic clash. Part two should be up within a short while, rest assured.

Stay tuned for "Final Phase: Part Two"!


	20. Chapter 20

Final Disclaimer: I don't own DP, and I'm probably as downcast as the rest of you about the series' looming end. But life goes on.

I would like to take this time to thank all those that have reviewed in the past. darkflame1516, enigmatic penguin, the sleep warrior, Moss Royal, Captain Deoxys, nooneluvsme, and all my loyal readers out there. I hope you stick around a while, because once I've seen Reign Storm and TUE (Which I still haven't, &$$#!) ,Sorry about that, I'll start writing part two of Way of the Ghost. Anyway, the epic climax is at hand! Read on, my loyal followers!

Chapter 20 (Final Phase: Part Two)

With his past training in the Judicator, Mallen must have based the Honshu's OS primarily on that, then modified it so that the weapon fit his attributes perfectly.

"Ah, so the old fogie comes to try and defeat me, eh?" Mallen taunted, "I thought I'd never have the honor, Colonel."

"Give it a rest, Mallen," Suzuki shouted over the intercom, "Fight like a man or die."

"In that case," Mallen said wickedly, raising his beam rifle, "I'll take the third option." A blast of green energy burst from the weapon towards Suzuki. It struck its target with an enormous blast. Everything was silent up there, until a red blur burst from the cloud and sliced Mallen's gun in half with one stroke from a red beam sword.

"Impressive, old man," Mallen chortled as he drew two long beam rifles from each shoulder, then clicked them together into one long beam turret cannon, "But can you match this?" The weapon fired a huge blue blast. As Suzuki turned around he raised his shield, which took the brunt of the blast.

"Actually yeah," Suzuki replied as he raised his own beam rifle. In turn the plasma cannons and railguns on his shoulders and hips, as well as the cannon in his suit's chest, fired simultaneously. What surprised me most was how Mallen actually wove around each of Suzuki's attacks. It would have seemed pretty impressive too if Suzuki hadn't struck Mallen's suit in the head with one foot, then sliced Mallen's turret cannon in half with a beam katar on his wrist.

"Pretty good for an old fogie, eh Mallen?" Suzuki taunted. He regreted his jibe instantly as Mallen ripped off both Suzuki's railguns and his plasma cannons. "Goodbye, old man.." Mallen hissed coldly as he ripped away one of Suzuki's beam swords and prepared for the killing blow...

OOOOO

There was a loud clang as Amainjir's blade clashed on metal. He was thrown back in surprise as I rose to my feet, wielding an enormous blade. It was a great weapon, silver from point to pommel, with a boar's head on said pommel. Had Yurei not taught me how to change my medium I would have been destroyed.

"AN IMPRESSIVE WEAPON," Amainjir glowered, "LET'S SEE IF ITS OWNER IS LIKEWISE."

"Indeed!" I charged towards him with tremendous speed. Bolts of blue and gold energy shot into the air as our blades met, lighting our battleground with hellish green flames.

"NOW LET ME SHOW YOU HOW A TRUE GHOST FIGHTS!" Amainjir roared as he leapt back. He started spinning his blade in a quick circle, until it was little more than a blur. "PAS DESOLUS!" he roared as the flames across our battleground seemed to merge with his sword. He brought his still spinning blade back, then threw the full brunt of his blast forward. I was immediately immersed in a huge firestorm. My entire body burned.

I roared with the horrendous pain as I felt like my head was going to explode from the heat. "HAH!" Amainjir's vile tones ripped through the pain, "SO FALLS ARREAN, KING OF HELL!" With one final heave I threw myself forward, cleaving my sword downwards with as much strength as I could.

"I DON'T THINK SO!" I roared as I thrust my blade through the flames, impaling Amainjir through his heart, or where it should have been. As exhausted as I was I groaned, "There is still work to do. I must go..."

OOOOO

The creature was a deadly force. Even with my great strength and skill it was hard to keep up with her. My armor had already been pierced in a dozen places, and I was slowing.

"THE GHOST ZONE IS OURS, KITAIYOU," she taunted from everywhere at once, "AND SOON YOU SHALL REST IN OBLIVION!" With one vicious stroke she sliced through the armor on my chest, whilst her four counterparts laughed coldly. As she brought her blade up for the final stroke, I raised my hand and fed an enormous blast through my sword.

It threw her back, and when I got to my feet her counterparts were gone, and she was lying pitifully, floating in the stagnant air of the Ghost Zone.

"Impressive finish," the boar beast Arrean lauded me as he approached, "Though I must say I thought your goose was cooked when she had you down."

"As did I," I replied, just as a flicker of movement behind Arrean caught my attention. I realized in an instant what it was, but there was no time. I threw Arrean to one side, just as Sumaeiya's curved sword thrust down. The pain was enormous. If not for thecut in my armor I may have lived, but her blade went through me, and I was lost, forever in darkness.

OOOOO

**"I AM THE DARKNESS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN,"** the creature said menacingly, **"I AM THE APOCALYPSE OF ALL THINGS. ARMAGEDDON IS MY SWORD, RAGNAROK MY SHIELD. I AM DOOM. I AM AS ANCIENT AS THE STARS. MY CLAWS ARE SPITE'S COLD CHILL, MY FISTS HATRED'S BURNING COALS. ALL THINGS FEAR ME. NONE CAN WITHSTAND ME. ALL SHALL WITHER AND DIE UNDER MY HARSH WHIP. I AM THE END. I AM SASSAMASHIN, KING OF DEMONS."**

He was an enormous gargoyle, his entire body wreathed in muscle. Huge claws on his hands and feet gave him an edge of viciousness, as did his long whiplike tail. Long white hair grew behind four short horns on his forehead, and his body was hidden beneath a long, scaly cloak.

**"WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE HERE, LITTLE ONE?"** he asked me, revealing dangerous fangs, long and serrated for tearing flesh. I didn't waste any time drawing my swords and merging them.

I replied, "I have come for you." With a lightning fast movement I unleashed a powerful wave of energy. Sassamashin raised a hand to try and block the attack, but it was of little use. The full force of the blast struck him. I thought for a second that it had worked, until the blast was sucked in on itself, until no sign of it remained. As for Sassamashin, he hadn't even been fazed.

**"IMPRESSIVE,"** he said flatly, rubbing the wrist of the hand he'd used to block my attack, **"BUT IS THAT ALL?"**

"No," I growled, slamming one fist against the pad on my chest. For a second, nothing happened. Then the pad sparked to life and sheathed me in white. Thick armor covered me entirely, until I appeared as a knight in full armor, white, with golden knuckles. Long golden points of light extended out behind me like wings as a great shield formed in my left hand. "Match me, King of Demons," I growled as I formed a sword in my right hand.

He stared at me for a second before he actually started laughing, **"DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU CAN STOP ME WITH THIS!" **

"Actually yeah," I replied, swinging my sword in an arc. A great wave of white energy flew from the blade, and as it struck Sassamashin I came behind it and thrust my sword through his chest. His blackened matter burned away, and I was able to see the pit below. Then he struck me to one side. I hit the wall of the cavern as the hole in his chest sealed itself. It took me a second to realize that he had actually separated me from the Specter, until he crushed it in one hand.

**"I CANNOT BE SLAIN BY ANY ORDINARY MEANS, LITTLE ONE,"** he said delightfully, **"I MAY HAVE ALLOWED YOU A SECOND CHANCE TO JOIN ME, BUT I HAVE DECIDED TO KILL YOU TOO."** With speed that was amazing for his size Sassamashin plunged toward me and ripped the mask from my face. His enormous fist slammed into my chest, and I struck the opposite wall of the cavern. Just as I was about to drop he grabbed me, and threw me once more.

He grabbed me again, and as he threw me into the far wall he growled, **"NOW YOU SHALL WATCH, AND BEAR WITNESS, AS I DESECRATE YOUR SOUL."** As I struck the wall, black tendrils snaked out and held me fast. I was injured, with a terrible gash in one arm, or I may have been able to free myself.

**"FOOLISH CHILD. I AM THE EMPEROR OF ALL EVIL, AND YOU ARE LITTLE MORE THAN A SHADE."**

OOOOO

As Mallen's sword fell I raised one arm to defend against his attack. There was a huge flash of light as I was knocked backwards. I had barely even realized that my wrist-mounted beam katars were still intact when I raised my arm.

"The old training never wears off, does it Mallen?" I challenged, blasting towards him at full speed. My katar clashed with his sword, and I brought my shield around so as to impale him with its beam claws. He saw the move coming and used his remaining hand to grab the shield and wrench it from my suit's wrist.

He was about to kill me when a blast from behind just missed his weapon . Without even thinking he whipped around and threw the shield as hard as he could. The boy had no time to evade the retaliation. The beam claws on that shield sliced him in two.

"NO!" I roared, wrenching free of Mallen's grasp, "He was just a boy! Young enough to be my grandson!"

"So many of my men are dead, Mallen," I grated, feeling anger well up inside me, "And now, YOU'RE JOINING THEM!" I couldn't see anything but that weasel.

I charged, and slammed into him. He took the blow full on. I lashed at him with everything, hands, feet, the works, costing me my katars and bladed feet, whilst I deprived him of my stolen beam sword, as well as one of his own. I charged, and he charged. Our blades clashed, and I pushed him back.

I blasted forward, and as he tried to rip me apart with his sword I ducked under it. With one lightning movement I thrust my sword upwards for all I was worth, as a huge burning pain cut off all feeling below my knee. In our final battle for survival I lost my left leg below the knee. Mallen lost his life. However, the price was still too high.

One young life in that sky was forfeit.

OOOOO

"SO, DYNASTINA," Ninjutsa grinned icily at me, "WE MEET ONCE MORE."

"As we once met many a time, sister," I spat the word, "Now draw your swords so that I may wipe you from the face of existence!"

"AS YOU WISH," she replied flatly, drawing her deadly blades, "THE BOYS ARE BUSY KILLING EACH OTHER, SO WHY DON'T WE JOIN THE FUN?" I raised my staff as her swords came down.

There was a clang as a cloud of flame erupted from my staff, forming a large spherical cage around us.

"One of us isn't going to leave here alive," I hissed, sweeping her blades back and rapping her on her forehead.

We fazed in and out of material detection, slamming weapon on weapon, back and forth like a tide. Concussion blasts shot from our impacts as we fought, until everything inside the sphere was reduced to rubble. I fought like a demon, knocking Ninjutsa back and forth like a rag doll.

Just as victory was in sight, her ghost blade flicked out and cut across my face. I screamed and jumped back in pain, holding my right eye in my hands. Ninjutsa, with almost a giggle, kicked me in the stomach and knocked me to the ground. As she raised her sword, a broad grin of delight spread across her face.

"I ALWAYS DID DESPISE YOU, SIS--" she never got to finish her sentence, if the green arrow poking through her chest was any indication. As I looked up and the flames faded around me I glimpsed the dark shape of an eagle flying far overhead.

OOOOO

It was quiet. Men, filled with fear of a sneak attack, poked their heads out from within their foxholes, wary of the stillness. Two soldiers descended from overhead.

One stood, balancing the other as he tried to hobble around on one foot. The body of a great beast, once master of the ancient seas, was already fading into the dust. Across the valley and town were strewn the bodies of men and ghosts alike. Of two thousand, only a hundred and fifty remained alive.

The men were silent, as was a little grey ghost that smelled of sushi. Even the fiery woman was silenced, her eye wide with horror. No words can ever describe the atrocity, the sickness, the act against nature that war is.

Far off, a lone eagle screeched its anguish to the blue afternoon sky...

OOOOO

I slowly regained consciousness. My head lolled from side to side as I tried to make sense of things in my clouded head. My eyes cracked open, then slowly closed again.

A second later they snapped open just as Sassamashin said, **"SO, YOU AWAKEN ONCE MORE TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING. OR IN THIS CASE, THE LAND OF THE DEAD."**

I tried to struggle for a moment, but I was held fast and quickly realized it. I had failed. Kitaiyou wouldn't be pleased with that news.

**"YOU CANNOT FREE YOURSELF FROM MY BONDS,"** Sassamashin spoke again, interrupting my train of thought, **"SO DON'T EVEN TRY."**

"Then why hold me like this!" I demanded, "And please, don't tell me you want to talk."

**"AH, BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO DO,"** he replied, raising a hand, as if it was little more than polite conversation between two friends, **"YOU HAVE INTRIGUED ME FOR THE LONGEST TIME, TIRRELL."**

I flinched slightly, and he snorted, **"STOP TRYING TO THINK I DON'T KNOW BOTH OF YOUR IDENTITIES. MY LITTLE RAVEN INFORMED ME VERY THOROUGHLY."** I flinched.

Kara's betrayal was like ripping out my heart and slapping me across the face with it. "So why the interest?" I asked, trying to keep myself under control.

**"BECAUSE YOU, TIRRELL, ARE A RARITY,"** he answered, **"THERE HAVE BEEN BEINGS SIMILAR TO YOU IN THE PAST, BUT NONE HAS EITHER POSSESSED YOUR UNIQUE... ATTRIBUTES, OR THE SAME ORIGINS AS YOUR POWERS."**

That didn't surprise me. There couldn't be many half-ghosts out there, if any at all, besides me. But part of what he said intrigued me. "What do you mean "other beings"? Are you saying that there have been, or are, other half-ghosts?"

**"CORRECT,"** he replied, **"BUT NONE OF THEM IS QUITE YOUR EQUAL. YOU SEE, MOST HALF-GHOSTS ARE HUMANS THAT STEP INTO A GHOST PORTAL AND SPONTANEOUSLY GENERATE A "GHOST" ASPECT OF THEMSELVES. YOU, HOWEVER, FUSED WITH A GHOST WHEN YOU BECAME... LIKE THIS. YOU NOT ONLY POSSESS YOUR OWN STRENGTH, BUT THE STRENGTH OF ANOTHER SEPARATE BEING FLOWING IN YOUR VEINS, THOUGH ONLY YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS SURVIVED."**

"So," I chanced, glancing at my claws, "Do you know why I'm changing?"

**"WHEN YOU WERE FIRST TRANSFORMED, PART OF YOUR HUMAN SELF REALLY WAS TURNED INTO A GHOST ASPECT, WITH THE GHOST YOU FUSED WITH LYING DORMANT. BUT AS YOU UNLOCKED MORE AND MORE OF YOUR POWERS, HE WAS AWAKENED WHEN YOU STARTED DRAINING HIS RESOURCES. I BELIEVE YOUR BATTLE WITH BLACK FIST BEGAN THAT."**

I remembered that battle. That was the first time I'd used my light and dark energies. **"AND THAT IS WHY I AM HERE,"** he said ominously, floating towards me, **"I AM HERE TO END IT."** Before I could respond Sassamashin grabbed the sides of my head and unfurled his cloak, which I realized were enormous wings.

An enormous wave of energy swept through me. It felt okay, for a second. And then my screaming like a rabbit caught in asnare began.

My entire body spasmed as I felt an extra set of ribs growing under the last set, with layers and layers of extra muscle around my young limbs. My shirt and pants were reduced to rags as my body swelled, and bolts of electricity coursed through my system.

My face contorted with pain as my chin thinned and extended, and a pair of horns grew from the base of my scalp and curled back over my hair, which was growing a mile a minute, until it stopped at the base of my neck. My gums bled as a set of dangerous fangs sprouted from my jaws. But what caught my attention, and thus caused me the most pain, were the two enormous wings that grew out frombehind my shoulders. Each wing was as long as I was tall, with a fold of membrane near the base of the wing extending down just above my pelvis. A small claw, or "thumb" at the wrist joint on each wing formed like a little hook.

As I screamed with pain my voice deepened drastically, until it was a massive booming roar that shook the entire cavern. Finally, the sparks stopped, and steam wound in tight curls from my aching body. My body was drenched in sweat, running off my silvery smooth skin in large droplets. My chest was heaving, and the only noise was the pathetic rasp of my spent vocal cords.

**"NOW, YOU ARE AS YOU WERE INTENDED TO BE,"** Sassamashin grinned, forming his hand into a mirror. I looked into it, being too weak to do otherwise. And if I'd been able I would have started screaming again.

My reflection looked like a vicious beast. I looked down on what part of myself I could see. I had become the stuff of nightmares, a creature that only the darkest corridors of the mind can conjure. "Sassamashin!" I roared, my voice quickly returning, "Why have you done this to me!"

**"I WISHED TO SEE YOUR TRUE FORM,"** he replied, reforming his hand. A broad, demonic grin cracked across his face, **"BEFORE YOU DIE."**

"NO!" A voice yelled from overhead, quickly accompanied by a howl of rage. Ronnie and Umbrus tried to hold back Sassamashin, but he had them bound to the cavern wall like myself within seconds. Without a word Sassamashin approached me.

Some might have been surprised, but I didn't struggle. I was done fighting. Ever since I'd begun fighting my life was filled with pain and sorrow. Sassamashin wasn't even about to use a sword or dagger or something. He would kill me with his bare hands.

**"FOOLISH CHILD. I AM THE CATALYST OF THE WORLD'S END, AND YOU ARE NOTHING."** His claws could cut me in two with one blow, whether he tried or not. He raised his clawed right hand.

"No," a small voice cried as his claws came down. There was a small black blur, then Kaminara's tortured visage formed for a moment out of the small patch of darkness. She looked at me with a face beyond sorrow as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.

I don't know why I said this, and perhaps I never will, but as her disgruntled face wisped away like a shadow, I murmured, "My... angel of the night." I lowered my head for a moment, and a gasp of agony escaped my cracked lips. Then I raised my head to the heavens and roared.

I poured every last ounce of doubt, despair, agony, sadness, and regret into that roar. The entire mountain resonated with my anguish. So long as there were still those poisons in my body, my roar shook, perhaps to the very core of the world. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, my mourning call stopped. Even I couldn't have explained why.

For a moment, all was silent. Then, with barely even a thought, my bonds crumbled around me like dust, and I had to spread my wings to keep from falling into the abyss. I felt somehow blank, like with that mourning behind me I'd emptied out all of my misgivings. The feeling lasted for only a second. My eyes flashed open, and a gutteral growl escaped my throat.

"SASSAMASHIN!" I roared, pointing a deadly claw at him, "YOU HAVE TAKEN FROM ME MY HOME, MY FREEDOM, AND EVEN MY VERY SOUL! I SHALL HAVE MY VENGEANCE!" I launched myself at Sassamashin with all of my tremendous strength. My eyes burned like twin suns, shining golden lights in the darkness.

A great claw tried to stop me, but I simply wove around it, and with a roar I ripped my talons deep into his flesh.

"DEMON!" I bellowed, tearing away a chunk of flesh from his torso, "HELLSPAWN! TRAITOR! TYRANT! BEAST! ATROCITY!" My claws were tearing his hulking form to shreds. His bare ribs were showing in a dozen places, and wormholes were riddled throughout his form. "MURDERER!" I roared, punching an enormous fist through his chest, "HAVE YOU NO MERCY!" With the last of my strength I knotted my hands together, with my palms down, and an enormous blast of black and white energy surged down, vaporizing the remains of the great demon. The effort had drained me more than I realized.

I slowly glided down to the cliff below. After a moment of hard breathing I tried to rise, but lost my balance and fell backwards into the abyss. Just as I plunged over the lip of the pit I felt a hand grab me by the wrist, followed by a set of teeth. Working as fast as they could Ronnie and Umbrus managed to pull me back onto solid ground. I got to my feet, making sure not to lose my balance. I looked at them. Ronnie had an uneasy grin, and Umbrus was sniffing my hand curiously as his tail shot back and forth like a paddle.

As I looked down at him for a moment I grinned, then kneeled and scratched his head. "Let's go home, sis. We should meet Arrean and Kitaiyou on our way out of the Ghost Zone."

She smiled at that, then replied, "Yeah. If we don't get home soon we might as well consider ourselves grounded."

XXXXX

And so the final climactic battle of The First Portal has been decided. Bet I had a few of you guessing on who would die and who wouldn't, huh? The epilogue should be fairly short, but I'm not sure yet, so watch for it!


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue

_"The price of freedom _

_Extends deep beyond knowing _

_Lives are spent to hold a kingdom _

_And still the odds are appalling."_

_"The earth bleeds _

_With mud and rock _

_As her children seed _

_Their bodies in death and shock."_

_"Birds and beasts, FLEE! _

_It is too dangerous here! _

_Run through the burning and broken trees _

_Where war and death will not peer."_

_"Two thousand march _

_Only a hundred and half alive _

_To tell the tale under quiet arches _

_Long after they've survived."_

_"The heavens cry _

_'Tis not the way of things _

_One must fight one and die _

_Not this aimless slaughter by kings."_

_"The sky hides her face _

_And the heavens weep _

_Wondering when death's embrace _

_Shall send them all into sleep."_

_"Cease this slaughter! _

_End this violence! _

_The taste of victory turns bitter _

_As the plain is consumed by silence."_

_"Remember this, all who know, all who read _

_So long as this place stands _

_War shall not be the victor, nor the seed, _

_It can only be born and spread, lest its sister peace, take hand."_

_Excerpt from the Y. Memorial of Hitori Japan_.

OOOOO

It's been six months since I destroyed Sassamashin. Because of his interference in the evolution of my ghost form, my sight was once more been taken from me in my human form. I paid a great price for the gift of the power to defeat Sassamashin.

The town, by grant of the, surprise surprise, Japanese government, gave the town easily enough money to rebuild the town and take down the military equipment. As close as is possible, things around town have returned to normal, even though a good chunk of the population right now is pretty well just workers rebuilding.

The first thing they did was put up the monument mentioned above on the east side of town, as to honour the battlefield, and the men and ghosts that fought and died there to protect us all. Basically, repairs and all that are pretty much complete, and people will be allowed to return and live again within a month or so.

Suzuki and his guys, to make sure that no unwanted ghosts got through the portal, and to avoid detection from the government, still being wanted and all that, have moved their base of operations north, so now Arrean will have someone to talk to. I hear that he and Snow are pretty close. Friendwise, I mean.

So, they've helped me out doubly, they saved the town, and "Yurei Ninja" can retire. It was fun at first, I don't doubt that, but I just can't seem to want to fight anymore. I suppose it all went out of me upon hearing of Tai's death. Rest assured, my fighting days were over.

Or, so I thought...

XXXXX

And so it has ended. Part one has ended (in case anyone noticed, in the little poetry bit at the beginning, the quotations mean a new paragraph. I couldn't space things evenly, thanks to this stupid piece of crap I'm supposed to call a computer!).

I'm going to take about a month or so off before I start writing a fic I more recently thought of, called "To Hunt a Soul". See ya then!


End file.
